The Yellow Soul
by An Preson Peepul
Summary: Before Frisk fell into the Underground, there was the Yellow Soul. Follow the 6th human in the Underground while he goes around and murders everyone through the eyes of the more powerful monsters at that time; the members of the Underground's council. OC centric. Rated T because all the main characters get killed.
1. Mel

Well, I finally got the guts to post something on this site. This is my first fanfiction, (my first ACTUAL fanfiction on the site. Night Before Smismass does not count) so it might not be all that great. Try to keep that in mind.

Anyways, I do not own Undertale, I only own my original characters 'n stuff. I don't say OCs because it makes me think of things that are not good. So, on with the story!

* * *

Mel awoke to darkness. The house was pitch black. The only sounds that reached her ears were the sounds of snores from her children. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and with a groan, she forced herself to leave the warmth and comfort of her bed.

The wiry skeleton stumbled over to her closet, tiredly mumbling to herself. Wrapping a familiar bright red scarf around her neck, she then proceeded to reach inside, and pulled out a suit of royal blue armor. The skeleton slipped into the armor as she had done countless times before. She checked to see if everything was snugly fit onto her, scanning to see if she had neglected any piece of her armor. When she saw that everything was in place, Mel quietly stepped out the door, and went on her way.

Opening the door just enough to peek inside, Mel watched as her children slept soundly. A small smile graced her non-existent lips as she observed the two skeleton children sleeping peacefully, not a care in the world, and remembered her own careless childhood.

She closed the door again, feeling better about herself. Little did she know that it would be the last time she would see her children.The snow crunched under her feet as she trekked through the icebound forest. Mel trudged through the forest, whistling a tune to herself. As far as she knew, this day was not going to be anything special. The cold crisp air around her slipped through cracks in her armor and chilled her bones. Birds flitted through the trees. The snow-covered forest was completely silent. Everything seemed completely normal.

A loud sound rang out through the forest. Birds flew up into the air and scattered everywhere, like dust in the wind, crying out in alarm. Mel was instantly on alert. She reached out, and summoned her bone staff out of thin air. With her weapon held out, she approached the source of the sound. Slowly, she put one foot after the other, each step bringing her closer to the source of the mysterious noise.

All that separated her from the source of the noise was a thick growth of bramble. She knew the layout of Snowdin like the back of her hand, so her memory informed her that on the other side lay a clearing. Whatever had caused the noise would have to be out in the open; there would be no place to hide. Mel took a breath, before she pushed aside the bramble.

She was greeted with a dog monster standing at the edge of the bramble. The monster stood, hands in the air, back to the clearing. His face was completely pale, and he looked terrified. Mel lowered her weapon, slightly confused.

"What is going on here?" she inquired.

The monster opened his mouth to speak. "Run," was all that escaped from his mouth. Then, the loud noise went off again, bringing with it a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared. All that remained was a pile of clothes, and dust.

What now stood before her was a human. Clad in a leather jacket, with a brown brimmed hat atop his head, the human had the barrel of his strange weapon pointed at her head. From what Mel could see, the human was male, with a stubble beard that almost reached his ears. The human watched her with glaring eyes, cold eyes filled with hate, unlike anything Mel had seen before in her life.

For the longest time, the two just stared at each other in silence. Although it might have been just a few seconds, it felt like an eternity to Mel. The two stood, carefully analyzing the other.

The human was the first to act. Pulling the trigger, the human's weapon fired a metallic projectile at the skeleton. Mel had seen plenty of guns before; under a different name, of course. They made up a good majority of designs drawn up by the royal scientist himself. They all served different purposes, but she just defined a gun as a machine made to shoot some kind of projectile. Sometimes they spewed glue, sometimes it was water. Sometimes they shot bolts of energy, but never had she seen a gun that launched metal projectiles. A seemingly simple, yet effective idea. Nothing fancy, just a simple metal projectile that could pierce through flesh like a flame eats through paper. She could tell that the projectiles were metal because of a faint shine they gave off. She made a mental note to tell Alow about the idea of making guns that shot metal projectiles. But only after she'd finished up with this fight. If she made it out alive.

Mel knew she had to focus on the fight at hand if she wanted to live. So the moment she saw the human make a move, she reacted. She saw the faint glimmer given off by something metal the moment the projectile left the barrel. She felt the sound of a gun going off reach her ears, and it echoed inside her empty skull. She could almost feel the air parting as the bullet pierced through it, and reacted almost instantly. With a simple flick of her wrist, she brushed the bullet aside as if it was a mere speck of dust.

The human wasn't prepared for that. He had been expecting the skeleton to fall like all the others. With a growl, the human slid his revolver back into its holster due to its empty clip, and unsheathed his knife, and charged forward with a loud battle cry. Another mistake on his end, as the skeleton swiftly raised her staff to meet the blade. The metal bit into the bone, stubbornly lodging itself into the staff. A twist with her staff was all Mel needed to tear the knife out of the human's grasp.

The human looked at his now empty hand. He had underestimated the skeleton quite a bit. He believed that she would be just as easy to kill as the others had been, but this one proved to be more of a challenge than expected. He looked back at his opponent, just in time to see her rushing forwards, bone staff in hand.

Mel made a small gesture with her hand, and a vibrant yellow soul was torn out of the human's chest. She batted the soul with her staff, sending the human flying across the snowy clearing. The human hit a tree, causing the tree to dump mounds of snow onto the human.

The human emerged from the snow, looking angrier than ever. He fired his now reloaded revolver at the skeleton, sending five more bullets her way. The skeleton deflected the bullets with as much ease as she had done before.

In retaliation, she swung at him several more times with her staff. This time, the human wasn't as easy to hit, sidestepping and jumping back to avoid being caught by the bone staff. He dodged the staff one more time before he turned his attention back to his opponent. Only for his eyes to widen as this time, Mel extended her staff to reach her target. Not expecting this, the human did not have time to step out of the way and took another hit from her staff. The human stumbled back, clutching his side. He looked back at his opponent, and Mel could tell that his eyes glared at her with even more hatred than before.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Mel taunted.

The human growled in response. The two just stood for a while, waiting to see what the other would do. The two remained like this for a while. Mel's scarf fluttered in the wind, and she noticed a small motion out of the corner of her eye. A subtle movement, but a movement nonetheless.

The human was slowly moving the barrel of the revolver at his side with his thumb, gradually rotating the barrel until it clicked into place. Then, the human abruptly swung his revolver up and fired. Only, Mel could tell he wasn't aiming for her. She looked over her shoulder, following the bullet's path to see what he had been aiming at. Except, he wasn't aiming at anything at all.

Mel quietly cursed for not realizing sooner. She turned back around, ready to dodge whatever he threw at her. Only to see that he was, quite literally, throwing something at her. Reacting instinctively, she raised a bony arm and caught it. She flashed the human a cocky smile. Then, she noticed that the human was smiling too.

Something wasn't right. Usually, when a serial killer gives you a smile, that usually doesn't indicate anything good. Mel brought the object she had just caught to her face. She inspected the round, black object, and noted the sparks flying off the string sticking out of the object. Then, she turned her focus back to the human, who hadn't moved an inch. But the smile he had on his face had only grown. He watched the skeleton with a cruel smile, through cold eyes. And only then did she realize what she was holding in her hand.

Her eyes widened. "Oh sho-" She did not even have time to scream before her skull was consumed by a blossom of fire. The human just watched as the skeleton disappeared into the flames, his face completely devoid of emotion. When the smoke cleared, all that remained of the skeleton councilor was a set of charred armor and a bright red scarf.

The human stood rooted to the spot long after the loud explosion faded back into silence, as the rest of the world began to settle down again. He kept his eyes on the scarf fluttering in the wind, a bright red stain in the pure white snow, and for a fleeting moment, the scarlet strip of cloth reminded the human of a certain dark blue ribbon. Then, the memory sunk back into obscurity. The human slipped his revolver back into its holster. He turned back around, and continued on his way, as if nothing of importance had just taken place.

* * *

Sans awoke with a start. He scanned the room as if checking for danger. He settled back into his bed with a relieved sigh. The young skeleton pulled his covers back over himself, his eyes set on the ceiling. He was about to fall back to sleep, when a loud ringing jolted him awake again. He rubbed his eyes, confused as to what was going on.

"SANS!" The squeaky voice of his little brother caught his attention, and he turned his head to face his younger brother.

"What is it?" Sans groaned, letting loose a loud yawn just after he finished asking his question.

"They're evacuating the town!" Sans was instantly wide awake.

"What?"

"They said there's some crazy human out there killing everybody in sight!" Papyrus hastily explained. He grabbed hold of Sans' arm and attempted to pull him out of his bed. "Come on!" He cried, fear present in his eyes. "Let's get out of here!"

"Alright," Sans said, hastily jumping out of his bed, an action that surprised Papyrus. His brother usually took his time getting out of bed, so seeing Sans leave the comfort of his sheets so quickly was a pleasant surprise. Sans, however, had his mind on other matters. He was worried for his mother. He knew she had left earlier than usual to get a council meeting, and he hoped that she had not been one of the monsters already killed by the human. As he and his brother fled the house, he took one last look at the house he was leaving behind. He raised his skull to the stars, and sent them a silent prayer for his mother's safety. Unfortunately, his prayer had been sent too late, for she was already dead.


	2. Scrapheap

I don't own Undertale or anything, so go on and read the story.

* * *

"So, you expect me to help you stop the human?"

"Yes," the hulking multi-faced scrap monster cheered. A bitter frown remained present on the chained humanoid fish monster walking beside Scrapheap, and he kicked aside a rusty crooked piece of metal.

"And what makes you think I'll do it willingly?" the fish monster growled, glancing over at the councilor on his right, as chains clattered against his sides.

" _Well,_ " the sorrowful face behind him explained, " _it's not like you have any other choice. The human will try to kill you, even if you are not actively taking part in trying to stop them._ "

"So you think I'll just throw away my life all for some grander plan?" the fish monster said in response, prompting a low growl from the sadistic face on the other side.

" **Be grateful that we're giving you a fighting chance!** " Scrapheap barked, digging on of her massive claws into a rock wall as they passed. " **If we were to have it my way, we would have kept you in your cells and watched as the human turned you to dust!** "

"Yeah! Don't be so pessimistic!" the positive face said with a smile, ignoring the shards of rock flying about as the other face tore into the rocks beside her. "At least we're giving you a chance to redeem yourself! Survive, and you'll be free to go!"

"You only gave us this chance because you don't expect us to survive," the fish monster hissed, his cuffed hands rattled as he attempted to shake them off again. "You saw this as an opportunity to get rid of us, so you won't have any more dangerous criminals to worry about!"

"Well, you can't really expect us to let you dangerous criminals loose without doing something in return," Scrapheap said back, retaining her cheerful expression. "Especially monsters like you, Pice."

Pice growled in response. The pair rounded the corner to find themselves in a rocky, somewhat uneven area. There was a waterfall coming off the cliff high about the clearing that fed a clear pond at the center, and the pond continued to flow off the area to the dark depths below. The fish monster turned to the hulking scrap monster beside him, the chains on his arms clanking together as he moved.

"You brought me to Alow's old testing grounds?" he asked.

"You said you needed a sizeable area for your idea," the optimistic face replied, motioning towards the rocky area before them. "This plot of land should fit your requirements just fine."

" _Also, we didn't really have any other plots of land left, so we just gave you the only one left,_ " the second face added.

"Yeah," Pice snarled, "because you gave everyone else their land plot first."

" **Shut up and get to work!** " The darker face barked, and shoved Pice forwards. The fish monster stumbled forwards, and tripped over a rock. Because his arms were chained together, he was unable to retain balance, and he fell face-first onto the ground.

" _Sorry,_ " the second face whimpered apologetically. " _I forgot to cut your chains off._ " She raised a claw, and with one swift strike, the fish monster's chains clattered to the floor.

"Good luck!" the first face chimed.

" _Try your best not to get killed,_ " the second face added.

" **Don't try anything funny,** " the third face hissed. " **We beat you before, and we can do it again.** " She raised a claw, and struck a stone off the cliffside beside her. Snatching it out of the air, she crushed it like a bug, to emphasize her point.

The hulking scrap monster stomped off, the various pieces of junk that made up her body rattled together as she moved. The fish monster's eyes did not leave her for even a moment until she had rounded the corner, and even once she was no longer in his line of sight, Pice kept his eyes on the corner that the scrap heap monster had just disappeared behind until the sounds of her footsteps had faded away.

Pice shakily got to his feet. He carefully brought his hands up to his face to see if the chains were gone. As he inspected his scaly hands, the full reality of his current state hit him; he was free. For the first time in over three centuries, he was free. He quickly went over his options. He could follow the task he was given, or he could run away. Completing the task was not an option if he wanted to stay alive, as that would surely result in his demise. So he decided that he would run.

But where would he run to? Once again, he only had two options in this regard. He could run to Snowdin, however the human was coming from Snowdin, and he did not want to run the risk of running into them. Though on the other hand, if he ran to Hotland, Scrapheap would be sure to find out. Once she found out, she would put the Royal Guard on his tail. The only way to ensure his safety was to make sure that no one knew he had escaped, and to do that, he would have to kill the council member in charge of monitoring him; Scrapheap.

She could rip him apart with ease. With her three faces, it was almost impossible to sneak up on her, unless one were to attack from above or below, but the scrap monster was aware of this face, and made every attempt to cover up her weakness. To eliminate such a powerful monster, one would need a plan.

The fish monster scanned the area, and a plan quickly began to form in his mind. From the unnatural wounds in the earth, to the old parts lying about, he pieced together a plot to eliminate one of the strongest members of the council. A twisted grin formed on his face, revealing a row of dagger like teeth, and as he began to put his wicked scheme into action, he muttered, "You took her away from me. You locked me up, and let me waste away while the centuries went by. Now I'm returning the favor."

* * *

Scrapheap surveyed the landscape, quietly taking in the unchanged environment. The third face was the one to break the silence.

" **I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!** " she cursed. " **We turn our backs on him for a minute, and now he's fled!** "

The first face objected, " _We haven't checked everywhere._ "

" **Well, that doesn't change the fact that he probably ran off, being the coward that he is.** "

"Hey!" the second face called out, and the two other faces instantly shut up. "Have we checked in there yet?" the cheerful face inquired, pointing towards a gaping hole on the side of the cliff.

" **No.** "

" _I don't believe so._ "

"Well, what are we waiting for?" the optimistic face chimed. The scrap monster took off towards the cavern with speed most would not expect from someone her size before the other two faces could protest, much to the third face's annoyance.

" **I would like to have more of a say in where we end up, thank you very much,** " the face mumbled.

" _Well,_ " the sorrowful face asked back, " _where would you have us go?_ "

The second face cut in, adding "it's not like there's anywhere else to go, after all."

" **I suppose you have a point there,** " the third face growled, a bit spiteful at the fact that the other two had turned her own words against her.

As soon as the scrap monster entered the cavern, she was engulfed in darkness, as the light coming from behind her was barely enough to light up the Waterfall section of the Underground. Scrapheap came to a sudden stop, standing at the edge of the light trickling in from behind her, a bit more cautious now that the light had been left behind.

" _Hello?_ " the second face called out, her voice echoing off the walls of the cave.

When no one responded, Scrapheap slowly shifted her position until the sorrowful face was in the front. The screen on her stomach gave off a low buzzing sound as it flickered on, and a beam of light lit up the cave.

The scrap monster took one cautious step forwards. Then another step forwards. When nothing happened, she hastened her pace, despite the first face's protests. The optimistic face still believed that Pice could still be in the cave, and the sadistic face was all too eager to prove her wrong.

As she advanced, she inspected the inside of the cave. From the various pieces of junk laid off to the side, to the small clusters of dust that had been disturbed, Scrapheap could tell that someone had been here recently.

"Come out! We know you're in here!" the optimistic face called out.

" _We're not going to do anything to you if you do,_ " the pessimistic face added.

The third face growled quietly to both faces, " **The guy's untrustworthy. He has obviously run off. The only thing for us to do is tell the Elite Guard a dangerous criminal is on the loose.** " The other two ignored her, much to her annoyance.

Suddenly, a low thud sounded off. Scrapheap raised an armored claw, and caught a flying spear inches away from her leading face. The sadistic face peered into the darkness from her side, and was barely able to make out a slim figure standing afar. She low growl escaped her lips, and she crushed the spear in her claw.

A series of low pitched noises echoed through the cavern as weapons perched on ledges behind the fish monster activated and began firing away. The sadistic face opened her mouth, and let loose a resounding roar that shook the cave. She charged forwards despite the other two faces telling her not to. She ran right into a hailstorm of fire, various projectiles bouncing off of the pieces of junk that made up her body like they were made of rubber. Swiping away anything obstructing her path, she failed to notice the trap laid out on the floor. The other two faces did, though.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the second face called out. The first face did the best that she could to restrain the other face, but the third face shut them out, completely consumed by murderous intent. She was just a meter away from tearing the fish monster apart, when the floor collapsed underneath, sending the monster down a pitch dark hole.

Scrapheap hit the floor with an echoing clang. Her three faces looked up, to see a slim outline, looking down on them, before the hole closed in over them. The third face let loose another roar as she scraped the walls with her claws.

" **Let us out of here, you backstabbing snake!** " she barked, slashing at the stone as if it would make a difference. " **Open up so I can tear you apart!** "

" _Hey, there's-_ " the first face began, but was cut off by the third face's louder voice.

" **You can't keep me in here forever! I'll find a way to get out, and when I do, I'll make sure there's nothing left of you!** "

" _Well, I'd like to-_ "

" **You won't get away with this! The guard will find out you've escaped, and they will not rest until they've killed you!** "

The scrap monster raised one of her claws one more time, and slammed it into the wall. A small drop of water dropped onto the claw. Except, it wasn't water. The liquid tore a hole into the claw as if it were made of paper, and Scrapheap recoiled in pain.

" **What-** " Scrapheap hissed, and for a moment, her bright yellow eyes flashed a brighter shade of yellow. " **Acid?** " Her eyes fell to the floor, and she saw that a pool of acid was beginning to form on the floor. She glared over to her left, at the first face. " **Why didn't anyone tell me before?** "

The pessimistic face was used to receiving negative words from the face to her right. She was known for being the more angry of the faces, and that was what she was known for doing. However, she was always the one the sadistic face chose to torment. But even when they were trapped at the bottom of a pit, with acid pouring down from above, possibly facing death, the other face was still throwing spiteful words her way. Now the pressure that she had kept under an even face had finally gotten too high for her to control, and the pessimistic face just snapped.

An ear piercing screech filled the pit, bouncing off the rocking walls and shattering the ears of everyone else.

" _That,_ " she wailed, gritting her teeth, " _is what I tried to tell you! But did you listen? No! Just like the time I warned you not to charge into that battalion of human soldiers!_ "

" **Well, I killed them all, didn't I?** "

" _That's not the point!_ " the first face screeched, her voice sounding as angry as she could manage. " _Your ignorance has gotten us into trouble so many times, I've lost count. And now, you have gotten us into our last predicament!_ "

" **What do you mean?** " the third face growled.

" _The dark pit, the acid pouring from above,_ " the first face said, motioning to the growing pool of acid at their feet. " _It's all over. The end of the line. We are going to die._ "

" **If someone had warned me of-** "

" _We did!_ " the pessimistic face yelled, pounding her claw into the wall. " _But you didn't listen. You have no one to blame but yourself._ "

"Enough!" The two faces immediately silenced themselves, and looked over to the second face. The optimistic face opened her mouth, and let out a long sigh. "Don't berate her. It's not going to do anything to improve our current situation."

" **No. She's right.** "

The second face glanced over to her right. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

" **It's my fault,** " the third face growled. " **I deserve this.** "

"What?" The second face glared at the other face, who seemed to shrink under her gaze.

" _Alright,_ " she muttered. " _I'm sorry. But you never listen to anything I say. I... I just wanted to be heard._ "

" **You're not the one who has to apologize!** " the third face barked. " **I'm the one who should be apologizing to you!** " Her eyes fell to the floor, and her glowing eyes dimmed. She sighed, and said, " **Do you want to know why I act so aggressive all the time?** " She looked up towards the sky, before she continued. " **It's because I'm scared. Scared of the world.** "

"Scared?" the second face asked. "But you're one of the strongest monsters in the underground!"

" **Yeah,** " the third face whimpered, " **which is why I felt that this is such a problem. Monsters look to me for protection because I'm so strong, but whenever I get in trouble, I have no one to protect me.** " A tear fell to the ground, losing itself in a slowly growing pool of acid. The third face's voice had begun to break down, as her emotions began to finally seep through.

" **I act tough to try to tell myself that I don't need anyone to protect me, but...** " she trailed off, and tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. The two other faces exchanged glances.

"You're not alone." The third face glanced up at the sound of the second face's voice. "You have us," the second face said, with a soft smile. "I mean, it's not like we can go anywhere else."

" _Although we may have our disagreements,_ " the first face said in a soft voice, " _We'll still stand by you. I mean, that's what family's for, isn't it?_ "

" **You...** " the third face whispered in an unusually quiet voice. " **You really think we're family?** "

" _Yes._ " By now the acid had reached their feet. But even with her impending doom hanging overhead, Scrapheap felt better than she had before.

"Although we might be stuck in a dark pit, with acid pouring down from above," the second face said to the other two, "there's no place I'd rather be than here with you two."

* * *

A cat monster stood at the edge of the evacuating crowd, watching as everyone slowly filed out of the Waterfall area. She scanned the crowd, hand to the weapon at her side, watching to see if anyone would dare disturb the peace.

"Lilac!" The cat monster's ears perked up. She glanced over to her right to see a scrawny fish monster scrambling up to meet her, and a smile placed itself on her lips.

"Easy there, Undyne" she said to the fish monster, placing a paw on her shoulder. "There's no need to run to me."

The fish monster chuckled. "I know, I know," she said back with a wild grin, brushing the paw off her shoulder.

"You get our stuff?" Lilac inquired. Undyne nodded, motioning over to the two suitcases she had left on the bottom of the hill.

"Of course," she said enthusiastically. "Would you expect anything less from your apprentice?"

"Well," Lilac said, motioning to the crowd, "the crowd's starting to thin. We should probably get ready to lea-" Suddenly, the cat monster stopped. Her chest was thrust forwards as a clawed green hand burst out from inside it, and Undye could only watch in horror as the cat monster crumbled to dust. And as Lilac's dust blew away into the wind, she caught sight of a face she thought she would never see again.

Pice grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth behind his green lips, and in a low voice, he said, "So nice to see you again, darling."

Undyne could barely find the strength to speak. "D-dad?" she stammered, and the fish monster's grin only broadened.

"Who else?"


	3. Sewmurr

Hey, look! This guy is back from the dead!

(Review section gets lit on fire)

Well, after a really long hiatus, I finally re-uploaded this thing. The reason why I removed this chapter in the first place was because the character that is featured in this version of this chapter, Sewmurr, was originally going to die in the second to last chapter, but because of his design I could not figure out how to kill him, so I swapped him in for Incinerate. As always, I do not own Undertale, just my characters. Enjoy the show.

* * *

The human had breached the lab. Despite the lab's advanced defense systems, and Alow's large arsenal, the human had managed to worm his way into the heart of Hotland and kill the royal scientist. In his defense, a majority of the system had been deactivated, though that did not excuse him from the fact that he had forgotten to activate the defense system in the first place.

"And on the day that I get put in charge of overseeing Hotland," the sack monster muttered bitterly. "I am telling you, the universe is out to get me."

The snake monster on the monitor laughed. "You're just ssaying that becausse you're a paranoid old burlap ssack."

"Well, wait until you've lived for several centuries," Sewmurr retorted.

"Yeah, whatever you say, grandpa."

Sewmurr sighed in response. His one eye drifted over to the monitor to his right, at the files he had opened up.

"So, I select everything here, right?" Sewmurr grumbled, changing the topic.

"Yeah," the snake replied, a smug smile on his face.

Sewmurr snorted in satisfaction. He paused before he turned his attention back to the screen. "So," the sac monster said, "I just drag everything into this document..."

"Yeah," the snake monster said affirmatively. "Then, you just hit ssend, and delete all the files you have in your possession."

Sewmurr replied with a grunt. He pressed down on the mouse button with one of his needle-like digits.

On the other end, the snake monster received a soft ping from his monitor. He reached over to his mouse with one of his floating arm-like appendages. In a single click, all of the files the royal scientist had kept were displayed for him to see. The snake hastily scanned the documents to check if there were any files missing.

As the snake monster scrolled through the various files he had opened before him, Sewmurr began to whistle. He tapped the mouse buttons with a rhythmic beat, and lifted the hand he had on the keyboard. He drifted his finger over to delete the files when the snake monster called out from the other end.

"Wait," he said, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Where are the perssonal filess?"

Slowly, Sewmurr retracted his hand. "What do you mean?"

"Among the files that you ssent to me, you sseem to have left out all the filess Alow kept on all of uss."

Sewmurr stayed silent, the line sewn across his face that was his mouth twisted in confusion. "I thought you told me to leave those out."

"I never ssaid ssuch a thing!" the snake monster hissed, his forked tongue flicked through his mouth. "I told you sspecifically not to leave out thosse filess."

"Alright," Sewmurr said, flicking his hand carelessly. "Whatever you say, bub."

A loud scream sounded off from out in the halls. An irritated sigh escaped the sack monster's lips, and he slowly got to his feet. He strolled over to the door, the metal braces on his legs groaning in protest as their parts were rapidly ground together, and threw it open. The loud noise produced by the door slamming against the wall beside it caused both the trembling monster on the floor and the human standing over him to freeze as they stopped to stare at the new presence.

"Will you two please be quiet," the sack monster grumbled, his voice resounding through the smooth, white walls in the lab. "I am trying to have a conversation here!"

"Yeah," the snake called out from behind him. "What he said."

What followed was a stunned silence. The area had gotten so quiet, one could hear their own heart pounding in their chest. Satisfied with the silence, the council member slipped back into the room, closing the door behind him with a slam.

"Right, now where were we?" Sewmurr said, returning to his cheerful demeanor.

"Hey!" the snake monster said from the monitor across the room. "That wouldn't happen to be the human behind that door, would it?"

Sewmurr huffed. "No, that was a pack of wandering adolescents I was speaking to-of course it was the human, who else?"

"Well, aren't you at least a little worried that there is a sserial killer outsside that door?"

"Of course not," Sewmurr replied, twisting his hand carelessly. "I've handled worse before in the war."

"I'm just saying, seeing as how that human killed Mel and Scrapheap, it isn't completely ludicrous to asssume that the human would find a way to kill you." The snake paused, before adding, "I mean, you aren't exactly the same monster you were. You're body hass aged quite a bit, and your heart hass not exactly been favorable towardss you as of recently."

The sack monster remained silent.

"Don't want to disscusss it?" the snake asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah," Sewmurr said, tapping his five needle-like digits on his hand against the surface table. "Now, I assume you know what to do with those files."

The snake straightened himself in an instant, responding with a silent nod.

"That's good," Sewmurr said, his voice filled with what could be called warmth.

A low creak came from behind the sack monster's chair, as someone slowly pushed open the door on the opposite end of the room, and at that moment he knew that his time was up. One last sigh escaped the permanent grin sewn across his face, before he steadily rose to his feet, pushing the chair out of the way.

"Well then," Sewmurr said, making sure that each word that emerged from his mouth was clear, "it has been a pleasure working with you, Haltress Hiestone."

A small smile graced Haltress' reptilian lips. "And it has been an honor serving alongside you as well," the snake said in return, performing one final salute before the screen faded into black. Sewmurr pressed down on the keyboard, and at once, all the files on the large monitor before him disappeared. Sewmurr's expression darkened, as he was suddenly reminded of his past, of the role he had played in the war. He remembered the humans, and all the death and destruction that they brought with them. He remembered the glint of their weapons against the sun, the terrified screams of monsters as they scrambled to get away from the thundering feet of the thundering of the armored men that brought nothing except despair with them. He was reminded of how much this situation was like ones he had faced in the past, and for once he wished that he could just turn back the clock on himself and bring him back to his youth. Then, the human pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The sack monster's broad chest jerked forward, a smoldering hole at the center. The human stood several feet away, his revolver aimed forwards, a small trail of smoke wafting out of the gun. The human observed the scene with cold, hate-filled eyes from underneath his hat; the same eyes that had watched countless monsters fall by his hand. The emotionless mask he wore on his face did not shift as he eyed the hole in the back of the sack monster's chest; to him, he was just another normal monster, who would soon crumble into dust.

Only, this monster remained standing. The joints in his leg braces creaked as Sewmurr turned to face the human.

Sewmurr growled, and the gaping hole that was his eye narrowed into a long gash into his head. "It's going to take a lot more than that to take me down," the sack monster said. He raised his hand high into the air, and slammed it down onto a button on the wall behind him.

The fire alarms began blaring loudly, and in an instant the air was filled with water droplets as the sprinklers above poured water into the room.

The human's head was quickly battered with water, the rim of his hat being forced down by the weight of the water. A loud, husky chuckle filled the air, breaking the rhythmic sound of rain beating against the walls and floors.

Sewmurr spread his arms wide as the water gushed down from above, seeping through his skin, trickling down to his very core. The human blinked, and the moment his eyelids parted, the monster before him seemed bigger. The human squinted his eyes, only to see that the sack monster was in fact growing larger as the water pouring down on them seeped through the fabric that was his skin and was absorbed.

Sewmurr let out a laugh, and he beat an arm against his chest.

"Weren't expecting that, now were you?" Sewmurr said, each word loud and vigorous. He reached over his back, and snatched a patch off the desk behind him, and slapped it down on his back. His arm reached out towards the human, and with a flick of his finger, and yellow heart materialized before his opponent. His metal claws clinked as he clenched them together, forming a fist. Then, he charged.

The human's bullets bounced harmlessly off his thick hide, barely slowing down the charging brute. The human leapt out of the way as the sack monster crashed into the wall behind him, taking the opportunity to reload.

The same moment six empty bullet shells clattered to the ground, and the drum snapped back into place, Sewmurr stumbled out of a newly formed dent in the wall. He noted with irritation at how even that small of an impact jolted him, before he quickly shook off his sentimental thoughts. Then, he lunged again, arms outstretched. This time the human slid under the flying sack monster, disturbing several newly formed puddles on the floor. He jumped back to his feet, only to be battered aside by a kick to the side of his face.

The metal on the sack monster's leg braces only added to the force of the impact. The human was sent flying into the wall, and his hat detached itself from his head, drifting down to the wet floor. As the human came to, he clutched the side of his head. He shakily got to his feet, only to feel a hand gripping his collar. The human barely even had time to open his eyes again before Sewmurr flung him over his head, sending him crashing down onto the set of screens on the other side of the room.

The human's head spun as he felt small water droplets pour down on his throbbing scalp. He brought a hand up to wipe away the water that had begun to trickle into his eyes, only to feel a sharp pain on his head. He quickly brought his hand to his face, and found his palm covered in a thick red liquid. He was bleeding. For the first time since he had fallen into the Underground he was bleeding. The small sparks leaping out of the pile of blackened screens behind him only added to the pain. He looked down, and saw that a small piece of his bright yellow SOUL had chipped away.

"Not so fun when you're on the receiving end." The human glaced up to see the sack monster slowly advancing towards him. The human responded by shooting him in the face.

The bullet sliced through the air with ease, disappearing into the gaping hole on the monster's head. The sack monster did not even flinch, showing no signs of being damaged in the slightest.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Sewmurr said mockingly. "I've taken multiple crossbow bolts to the eye, I've sucked up entire pot fulls of scalding oil without so much as batting an eye, I've shattered boulders as big as houses in a single blow; you think a small metal projectile's going to do anything against me?"

The human responded with a scowl. Then, he pulled back his arm, as if he were going to hurl his weapon at his foe, an action which confused the sack monster. To his surprise, the human actually threw the revolver, sending it flying over his head. Sewmurr reached up to grab it, only for the human to slide under him, and threw two sparking wires around his legs. The sack monster looked down at the black cord loosely wrapped around his leg, even more confused than before. Sewmurr lifted his head only to find himself face to face with the barrel of a revolver. Without a moment of hesitation, the human fired two bullets in quick succession.

The bullet barely grazed his leg, and sent both wires flying backwards. The wires quickly snapped tight as they were stretched to their limit, and swung back around, wrapping around the sack monster a second time. Two more shots went off, and the cords flew back around the burly monster one more time.

Sewmurr stared at the wires draped around his body the same way a man would look down upon a child. He eyed the black cord, inspecting it without interest, before he snapped them apart without breaking a sweat.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the human slip something into his mouth. In a matter of seconds, alll of his wounds quickly sealed up, his SOUL had been restored to its original state. He narrowed his eye, and his mouth twisted into as best of a scowl as it could create.

The two stood, staring daggers at each other from across the room. Drops of water pounded down onto them, and the water splattering against the floor bit at their heels. With each drop of water that soaked his skin, the monster grew in size. The human knew that the longer he hesitated, the stronger his foe would be.

Slippery as a snake, the human ducked under the sack monster's grasp, and kicked the monster in the chin. Sewmurr took the blow to his head without flinching, before he responded by smashing his arms down onto the ground. The human rolled aside moments before the blow made contact. He jumped up, and fired the remaining two bullets in his revolver. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the sack monster's thickened hide.

The human quickly deduced that if he were to defeat this foe, he would need more options. He had already exhausted a majority of his options, and he guessed that the ones that he had left would prove to be useless as well. If he were to try to escape, however, he would have to pry open the door, which had closed shut on its own, something which would waste precious seconds in which he could have spent looking for better options.

The human resolved this problem by unsheathing the knife at his side, and hurling it at the monster. Sewmurr raised a hand to catch the blade without hesitation, only for the human to lob a grenade over his head in his moment of distraction.

The resulting explosion forced the door to open, putting a sizeable dent in its metal frame. As the small round object was enveloped by bright orange flames, it jogged something inside Sewmurr's memory, and he instinctively raised his arm to shield his face from the blast. The second the flames died down, the sack monster lowered his arm, only to see that the human had taken the opportunity to slip past.

The human broke into a sprint for the doorway on the other side of the room, reloading his weapon as he ran. He glanced over his shoulder only to see a misshapen door flying towards him. The human ducked, and the door sailed harmlessly over his head, slamming against the side before screeching to a halt.

Looking back, the human saw Sewmurr charging at him. He fired two bullets at the sack monster's legs, hoping to buy himself some time. The metal braces that Sewmurr had around his legs were not as resilient as the rest of his body, and it bent from the force of the bullets. Now without support for his legs, Sewmurr's run changed into a stumble, and he had to stop for a moment to straighten his leg braces.

The human took advantage of this distraction, and slipped through the open doorway. He took one last look at the room behind him, and noticed a small button off to the side. Without a moment of hesitation, the human raised his revolver and fired at the button. The bullet tore through the button console like paper, revealing the sparking wires underneath, and in the process activated it. A thick metal door slid down behind him, locking into place with a click.

Barely taking a moment to stop and rest, the human tucked his weapon back into its holster, and continued on his way. He rounded a corner to find himself in an open area. Screens decorated the walls, varying in sizes. Some were as small as a picture frame, while others were large enough to reach the ceiling. There was a large, flat table was placed against the back wall. On the table, elaborate blueprints for various weapons were scattered about in a disheveled mess. From traps designed to ensnare unsuspecting victims to blades that could slice through anything, every single idea the previous royal scientist had ever conceived and put down onto paper was laid out before him. And piled off to the side were the weapons themselves.

Quietly, the human inspected the weapons with his eyes. Hovering a hand over the items scattered on the table, the human eyed each one carefully, assessing them just by appearance. He stopped at a small black disk, plucking it off the table. The human carefully inspected the item, rubbing over the glowing bright orange dot in the center, noting the glowing lines that diverged from the center. The human decided that this item was something he would save for later. He reached into a pocket in his jacket, pulling out an object that greatly resembled the weapon he wore at his side, and replaced it with the black disk. He turned back around, only to see the sack monster burst around the corner. They locked on to each other, and immediately the fight resumed.

The sack monster charged at the human, a roar resounding from his chest. The human grabbed one of the items lying on the table behind him, a small, shiny white canister, and hurled it at the monster. The object bounced off the monster's head, ejecting a cloud of gas only moments after contact. Sewmurr's head was engulfed in a light green fog, and a second later, the entire cloud burst into flame, causing the monster to pause. The fire quickly burned itself out, passing over the sack monster like a wave lightly crashing over the shore. The only trace of its existence was a tiny flame that danced atop the monster councilor's head, but a large bulky arm came down on the small flicker of orange and red, snuffing it out as well.

The human hauled one of the larger items off the pile of weapons on the table, before he broke into a run. Taking one glance at the object in his hands, he saw that he had picked up a large unwieldy weapon that hung inches above the ground. Lifting it with both his hands, he carefully aimed at his foe, and fired.

The cannon the human was holding emitted a burst of air with a deafening bang, and he was knocked to the ground by the force of its recoil. The burst of air forced its way through, knocking over tables and shattering glass. When it hit the sack monster, however, all it did was cause him to stumble back.

The human quickly regained his senses, his hands still on the cannon. His eyes landed on his opponent, and he saw that the sack monster had also come to his senses, and was already gaining momentum. The human raised the weapon, and fired again. This time, the human was knocked to the ground as the weapon as it emitted another harsh burst of air. The burst created a ripple in the air, disturbing the tables already on the floor. The items that had been on the tables were flung backward, only to clatter against the floor, like a wave made of various objects of different shapes and sizes.

Sewmurr, however, was not as unprepared as he was before the previous attack. His bulky arm reached over, and grabbed a table off its side. Inches away from being hit by the blast, he flung the table at it with a roar. Weapons crashed against the table, bouncing off to the side, but the table was flung with enough force so that the items did little to slow its advance. The table slammed against the wave, and the moment they made contact, the table shattered into countless smaller pieces, wooden fragments flying in all directions. The human barely had time to blink before the sack monster burst forth out of the wreckage. The instant Sewmurr feet touched the ground, he pushed off the ground again, launching himself at the human

The human stepped back as Sewmurr's arms came crashing down onto the ground, a spiderweb of cracks appearing on the tiled floor below. He raised his arm, aiming his revolver at the monster, but something caught his attention that caused him to hesitate. He had only paused for a second, but a second was all Sewmurr needed to close the gap between them. The sack monster delivered an uppercut, causing the human to release the weapon he was holding as he was sent into the air. The sack monster to leapt up into the air as well, before delivering a downward kick that sent the human back down to the ground. The human's head spun, and clutching his head he made a clumsy attempt to get back on his feet. Suddenly, a large hand gripped his throat and lifted him off the ground.

As the human struggled in the monster's iron grasp, he noted at how moist the monster's arm felt, noticed the small water droplets falling off the monster's body as if it were a rain cloud. He quickly guessed that the monster was in fact not resistant to fire, he just needed a larger flame to kill it off. If only he had a large enough source of heat...

It was then that the sack monster decided to throw the human at the window beside him. The fragile glass window shattered under the force of the throw, breaking into a million tiny pieces that cut into the human's skin like tiny daggers as he made contact with each one. Not even a scream escaped his lips as he plummeted into the unknown below.

Sewmurr watched as the human disappeared from sight. He was about to turn around, but a small voice told him to check again. Sticking his head out the window, he scanned the landscape. A sea of molten magma stretched beyond the horizon, and for a moment, Sewmurr truly believed that the human had been defeated. Then, his eye turned downward, and he noticed the fire escape platform below.

"Of course there's a platform below," Sewmurr groaned. Knowing that the longer he waited, the more time he was giving to the human for him to make his escape, the sack monster pulled himself over the edge, and dropped down onto the platform.

The human was already climbing up the second ladder, when a heard a thud sound off beneath him. The ladder trembled violently under his grasp, and he looked down, only to see that the sack monster had followed, glaring back at him. The human only increased his speed, desperate to reach the top. Sewmurr watched as the human scrambled up the ladder, and a low growl escaped his lips. He turned to the wall beside him, placing a hand on the wall. He flexed his needle-like digits, before he increased the pressure he was applying to the wall, causing his fingers to sink in. He pushed himself higher, and struck the wall with his other hand and grabbing onto the material with his claws.

With each stroke, the monster closed the gap between him and his opponent. His hands swung up and down against the wall, leaving a series of holes in their wake as he clawed his way to the top. He reached the roof in a matter of seconds, hauling himself over the edge with a crash. The human was not expecting the sack monster to emerge so far away from the end of the ladder, and his eyes widened ever so slightly. He had been entirely focused on getting up to the roof, and had not paid any heed to the monster following behind him. The human stepped back, inches away from falling to his doom.

Sewmurr observed the human, watching for anything that might reveal his next move. Almost immediately, he noted that the human's muscles were tensed like a spring, coiled up and ready to activate at a moment's notice. The sack monster quickly put two and two together; The human was waiting for him to charge, so he could be tricked into falling into the sea of magma below. Of course, the human's plan could be a bit more complicated than that, but they all most likely involved him attempting to get close. The human would not expect his opponent to attempt anything besides a melee attack, as he had yet to use any kind of ranged attack. Something which Sewmurr just so happened to have, but had not had the chance to use. The sack monster's grin broadened slightly at the thought of taking the human by surprise.

Sewmurr raised one foot high into the air, and brought it crashing back down onto the ground. The force of the impact was so great, the roof shook, and he heard the ceiling under him crumble slightly. The human was lifted off the ground only by a few inches, but a few inches was all the sack monster needed. Acting swiftly, Sewmurr thrust his arms forward, pointing his metal fingers straight at his opponent, and streams of water erupted from his needle-like digits. The human touched the ground again the same moment he was hit by a blast of water. He put his hands up in an attempt to push back against the force of the water, but the damage had already been done. One step back turned into another, and the next step the human took brought him over the edge. The human slipped, and as he began his fall, he felt something began to slide off his neck. A heart-shaped locked emerged from underneath his jacket, and for a moment, the human's face was a display of genuine fear. In an instant, the locket was once again stuffed under the human's jacket, vanishing from sight as soon as it had appeared, and the human finally fell, disappearing from sight.

The sack monster stayed back for a moment. He was suddenly brought back to one of his worst experiences during the war, a great victory that had quickly turned to defeat. At that time, he was but a common foot soldier, seen as nothing but another face among the crowd in the grand scheme of things. It was a chaotic battle, going on for several hours. For the longest time, no side seemed to gain the upper hand. The deadlock was ended when the human at the lead, the strongest of them all, fell by his hand, and his hand alone. Like insects exposed to the sun the moment their hiding place had been revealed, the humans scrambled for cover, running into the cliff behind them that only ended in the sea. A loud roar quickly reverberated through the ranks of the monster army, and they surged forward, eager to finish the fight. They were a few feet away from the edge, when suddenly the humans burst out from the cliffside. They swarmed over the monster forces like rats, and with them they brought a new weapon with them; fire. Hoisting some kind of cannon, the humans spread flames into the ranks of the monster army. The first monster who was torched happened to be him. Time seemed to slow as the fire crawled toward him. He barely had time to say anything before he was engulfed in flames. The only thing he could remember after that was unbearable agony as the flames clung to his body, eating away at his flesh. Days later, he would away to find himself in a new body, one that was sewn together by one of the elders of the monster nation; one of the members of the council. But even to this day the memory of being burned alive still clung with him like his own skin, and as he stood eyeing the ledge from which another human had once stood upon, he was reminded of that moment. A voice inside told him that this was another trick; that the human had once again found a way to survive, and like on that fateful day the human would suddenly spring out from under the edge. The same voice told him to go over and to finish what had been started. But another voice, a much quieter voice, cautioned against going over to the edge. It reminded him that the last time he had found himself in this situation, the humans had almost ended his life. Despite its warnings, Sewmurr decided to listen to the voice before.

Cautious, the sack monster crept forwards, the metal braces attached to his legs squeaking in protest as he crossed the rooftop. He carefully peeked over the edge, scanning the environment below with his one eye. Nothing but a vast sea of red lay below, and Sewmurr huffed in satisfaction. He had finally killed the human.

The sack monster was about to turn back, and head down when suddenly, pain erupted from his large chest. His legs gave away, and he fell to the ground, clutching his heart. His head spun for a moment, but to his relief, his headache quickly cleared up. Then he noticed the black disk clinging to the edge of the wall just under him, with a series of glowing orange lines that diverged from the center. And the elder council member just sighed.

An explosion tore the ground out from underneath his feet, and he slipped from the rooftop into the sea of magma below. He plummeted through the air, and as he fell, he noticed the human had found a surface to wrap his arms around after he had fallen, and was clinging on to dear life. The human was positioned a fair distance away, so even if the sack monster had tried, he would not have been able to bring the human with him. And as he fell to his demise, Sewmurr couldn't help but say one last thing to the human.

"Well played, human," Sewmurr called out. "Well played." As the sack monster sunk into the endless sea of red, he ignored the cold pair of eyes glaring back at him, and instead he drifted back into the past, back into all the wonderful things he had been through. And as his body sank below the surface of the vast ocean of molten rock, and burned up, becoming nothing more than smoke in the air, he raised his head high, and he gave the world one last grin, before his head was finally concealed by a thick blanket of red-hot magma.

The human watched as his foe disappeared. His face an emotionless mask once more, the human pulled himself back onto the roof without making a sound. He scanned the landscape before him, and as he did so he recalled the items he had left behind; particularly a hat and the knife he had received as a gift, and a toy weapon from his early years. For a moment, he considered going back to retrieve them, but that train of thought was short lived. He had been taught that being sentimental was only going to drag him down, and if he wanted to truly be great, he could not let the past hold him down. So he decided to carry on with his journey. With one last look at the landscape of Hotland, he turned around, and left, to continue onward.

* * *

If I were to create a list of the top ten most painful writing experiences, this would be #-3. I had to write this chapter three times before I eventually settled on a version of the story that I liked.


	4. Araerasco

Well, it's about time I updated this story. By now, anyone who for whatever reason has been following the stuff I do (or checked the release date of the story, the date it was last updated and tried to find the average intervals in which I upload chapters, but who wants to do math?) would think that I have a hard time being consistent with my work schedule. And you'd be right. That's why I'm looking to change that and upload more often, so expect more from me more often. But enough about that, let's just get on with the show!

Also, I don't own Undertale.

* * *

Smoke drifted aimlessly through the halls of the building. The monsters that usually filled the rooms had all evacuated, so the crackling of flames was the sound that filled the air.

A loud clang interrupted the rhythmic crackling. The sound resounded through the burning building, going back a lonely door at the end of one of the many corridors. A few moments passed, and the echo slowly resided, until it was nothing more than a dull ring.

A second clang sounded off a few seconds after, louder than the first. A dent appeared in the center of the door. The metal door trembled like a bell. The shaking quelled, only for it to be struck again. This time, the strike bent the door outward, and thick black smoke began to seep through the cracks.

Once again, the ringing faded back into the crackling of the fire spread across the floor. Several seconds went by, and the air was once again filled with the crackling of flames. Then, the door was struck one last time, sending the door flying off its hinges. Smoke poured out of the door, and Araerasco burst into the room. The giant armadillo lowered the large pile driver he had pressed to the door, transforming it back into his paw.

Araerasco's eyes darted around the room, his pointy ears twitched to catch the slightest change in the soundscape. His ear suddenly stiffened, as what might have been a whisper.

The shadows cast by the fire suddenly receded. The dark formless blobs began to fuse. The shadows melted together and began to take the shape. Almost instantly, his eyes went to the floor. He jumped back, his guard raised and his lips twisted into a growl.

A frame rose up from the ground. Two wings folded out from behind it, and a head took form on top of its shoulders, the solid black that filled it in split apart with a toothless grin.

"Hey." Araerasco's guard never wavered, catching sight of the grinning figure in the shadows.

"Talon," the armadillo monster growled. "You just gonna sit there, or are you going to make use your teleportation powers of whatever?"

"Sorry, bucko," Talon replied, words flowing out from the shadows like oil. "Says in the official rulebook that I can't interfere with mortal affairs."

Araerasco just narrowed his eyes in irritation. Talon put up his arms defensively. "I'm joking. I only have enough energy for this."

The armadillo snorted, uninterested, before he dove deeper into the flames. Furniture tumbled to the floor, scattering various objects left and right. The flames eagerly leapt up to snatch up the items that fell to the floor. Tongues of red-hot fire licked the thick hide of the armadillo monster, but he paid them no heed. He searched under every desk in hopes of finding his quarry, but he was unable to find even the slightest trace.

Putting his nose to the ground, he attempted to see if he could find the scent of the child, but all that he could smell was ash and smoke. Smoke drifted harmlessly above his head as he panned the room, his eyes darting about in his frantic search, but came up with nothing. A low rumble came from below. For a moment it seemed as if the building would collapse, but Araerasco quietly assured himself that the building was not going down anytime soon; it was one of his design, after all. A flicker of fear must have passed through his eye, as he heard someone behind him emit a low chuckle. His eyes snapped onto the only other being present in the room, the winged form stuck on the wall, tapping his fingers impatiently against the shadow of a desk.

Araerasco narrowed his eyes. "You were never the type for friendly visits, Talon," he growled. "What have you come here?"

Talon chuckled, taking his fingers off the desk, before he leaned back against the wall behind him. "You know me too well," the shadowy figure spoke in a casual drawl, despite the flames that flickered around him. "Thought I'd drop by to see if I could help. Kid's down by the mailroom."

Araerasco shot him an annoyed look. The shadow's grin only got bigger.

"What? That was what you were going to ask, right?" Talon said, shrugging his shoulders. The armadillo 's eyes remained on the black form on the wall, before he took off wordlessly. Araerasco ran through heaps of burning objects, his eyes steeled with newfound determination. Flames would reach out to get a taste of the armor that jostled around on his body, but every time they got too close, he leapt to safety. He crossed the room in a matter of seconds, leaving a trail of disarray in his wake. The wall was closing in on him quickly, but the giant armadillo did little to slow down his pace; in fact, he increased it. With the wall only meters away from coming into contact, Araerasco closed his eyes, and braced for impact.

He dove through the wall with a loud crash. Pieces of rubble flew awry, clattering on the floor. The armadillo monster barely flinched, he just plowed through the wall and kept on going. His feet plodded against the floor, clanging against the smooth, hard surface underneath him. Fires raged on around him, the charred scent of smoke filled the air.

The shadows cast by the fire once again took the shape of a winged figure, sliding across the wall with the giant armadillo. "Speaking of which," Talon spoke over the crackling of the flames, "why would a council member, such as yourself, be out here in the field? Why not wait for someone more suited in this field to do it?"

"Like the fire brigade?" Araerasco said as he bounded through the halls. "What to do expect them to do when they're dead?"

Talon seemed to consider this. "Well, there are monsters who are more adept at handling this kind of situation."

"Yet no such monster stepped up to the task," the armadillo grumbled.

"Yeah, but aren't you supposed to be overseeing an evacuation?" the winged shadow said, gliding along the wall.

Araerasco hissed in annoyance. "Could you be quiet? I am trying to focus here!" Araerasco snapped.

Talon raised his hands defensively. "My apologies," he said, his grin only growing wider. "Just trying to lighten the mood; maybe help with a few things like-wall"

"What are you-" Araerasco's head suddenly came into contact with a solid surface. Shaking his head, he stumbled back to find himself face to face with the underside of a counter. A spiderweb of cracks had appeared right where he had rammed his head.

"Desk," the shadow muttered, slipping beside him. "I should have said desk."

The armadillo quickly jumped back onto his feet, his limbs eager to leap forward and continue onward, when he stopped for a moment. Taking one long look at the counter before him, Araerasco jogged his memory for where exactly in the building he was. It took a moment for the answer to come to him; the service room.

He scanned the desk. Papers were scattered about the surface, abandoned in the rush to evacuate. Nothing too surprising. His eyes then drifted over the desk and to the wall behind it. It then occurred to him that his accomplice was still talking.

"-we gonna get going or what?"

"You said the child was in the mail room?"

Talon stopped. "Yeah," he replied, his smile quickly morphing into a confused grin. "You forget already?"

Araerasco remained silent, and the sound of crackling filled the air once again. The shadow to his side opened his mouth again to speak, when a low creak came from above, accompanied by a trickle of dust leaking through a tiny crack in the ceiling. The figure in the shadows disappeared in an instant, as the ceiling came crashing down. The flames roared, as Araerasco dashed to the side. Cinders were scattered in various directions; some simply fell to the ground and became still, while others ignited smaller blazes. The shadows quickly melted to reveal the figure of Talon, only to find that his companion had disappeared. He scanned the room, searching for the giant armadillo. A loud clang sounded off to the side, behind the counter.

At once, he was behind the desk. Araerasco loomed over the metal door on the opposite side, his front paw raised into the air. The metal pole at one end shuddered, emitting a deep groan. As if attached to a spring, the pole shot forwards out of his paw, disappearing into a silver blur, and a second metal clang resounded through the room. The door was sent flying back inside the room, clattering to the floor. Then, the giant armadillo slipped inside without a word.

Araerasco leapt through the long dark corridor that stretched on before him. Large machines towered over him. Machines that once filled the air with the sounds of life moved no more, trapped in a building doomed to burn to the ground. The air smelled of oil and dust, as the fire had yet to reach this particular room, but when the giant armadillo glanced back, he saw that a few small cinders had followed him inside. He had let the fire into the room; it would be a matter of seconds before the rest of the place burned down.

With each step he took, the floor trembled underneath the giant armadillo as his paws thundered against the floor. Machines were knocked aside as he plowed through. He had a child to save; he could not afford to stop even for a second.

Wires flew through the air as they were torn out from the motion of the machines as they tumbled to the ground, each towering bulk of metal crashing to the floor. Sometimes one fall would lead to another, as the wires that linked them together was yanked to the ground. As he clomped down the dark corridor, he caught glimpses of his reflection on the polished metal surfaces of the machines that passed by. Seeing his determined expression captured down to every detail, he realized that he had not felt this... alive since a long time ago.

Another crash rang out; another metal shell cracked open like an egg, wires spilling out onto the ground, and the first thought that came to his mind was: "Alow can fix that." Then he remembered that he was dead.

Araerasco complained to himself, "There's no point in having a defense system if you don't ever turn it on." Thinking back, though, he probably shouldn't have told Alow to keep the activation code to himself, as the situation might not have gotten has bad if the scientist had told someone else the procedure to activate the lab's defense systems. Oh well, it was too late to turn back now.

Throwing a quick glance to the ceiling, he saw that a thin blanket of smoke had begun to drift overhead. Araerasco increased his pace as the scent of charcoal began to get stronger, not wanting to get caught by the flames. His armor could withstand heat for a short amount of time, but his shell was already littered with scorch marks that streaked down his sides; it would not take much more for the flames to get through.

His eyes set dead ahead, the wall was closing in fast. Each step taking him a moment closer to making contact. Increasing his pace, his footfalls increasing in pace. He was only seconds away from hitting the wall, when...

"Wait!" Suddenly, Talon's shadowy figure was before the armadillo monster, arms held up defensively. Araerasco screeched to a halt, stopping inches away from the wall. Quickly backing off, his eyes narrowed into yellow slits.

"What is it?" the armadillo growled, his ears laid flat, displeased with the interruption.

"You don't want to go through there," Talon said back, slowly lowering his arms back down.

"Why?"

"There's a large piece of machinery on the other side of this wall," Talon hastily responded, knowing that the armadillo's patience was growing thin. "The child is directly behind that machine, and if you go through here, that rabbit is going to end up squashed like a pancake."

The armadillo huffed in annoyance. As much as he hated staying inside the burning building for any longer than necessary, upon a bit of further digging, he realized that the shadowy figure was right. Shuffling over to the side, he turned to face the door beside him. He clomped over to the wall, and in a blur, his paw had transformed back into a piledriver. His arm shuddered, only for the metallic surface to shoot out of its place, slamming into the door. The door sprung out, and crashed into the wall on the opposite side with a thundering clang.

Araerasco stumbled out into the hallway as his arm melted back into its original state. Without a moment of delay, he set off towards his original destination. Bursting forth into the room, his pupils darted about, frantically scanning the room. Were the conditions more relaxed, he would have waited for Talon to show up and give him more specific details on the child's location, but he could not afford to wait. Each second that went by was another second in which the child waited for their doom, be it from the burning tongues of flame that latched onto the building, or crushed under a piece of rubble loosened by the fire. He did not dare question why his companion had disappeared again, he only knew that he had an objective to complete.

The armadillo took another sniff. The scent that greeted his sensitive nose was the familiar smell of charred material going up into smoke, but amid the ash and charcoal, he picked up a whiff of something else. At once, he knew that it was the child he had been searching for; the terrified cries coming from the corner confirmed it.

He carefully made his way over to the other end of the room, each step hitting the floor with a metallic clang. Weaving his way around baskets full of mail and chutes sticking out of the wall, taking one carefully placed step after another, the child's scent began to get stronger. The smoke stung his eyes, and the wisps of flame that tickled his hide had begun to finally seep through, yet he pressed on.

Rounding the final corner, a small rabbit monster came into view, sitting in the corner, alone, trembling in fear. Barely older than a baby, the rabbit's eyes flitted about, her face frozen in an expression of terror. Araerasco opened his mouth to alert the child of his presence, when his eyes glanced upward for a moment, catching sight of something large looming overhead. He vaguely remembered hearing Talon warn him about some large object positioned like that.

A low growl rumbled through the building; Araerasco's feet was able to feel the vibrations produced by the frame that he had designed himself as the building swayed underneath him. Then, with a shuddering groan, the building tilted to the right. Objects fell to the floor and into the wall, and as Araerasco tightened his grip to prevent himself from sliding into the wall, he could have sworn he heard something snap far beneath him.

Glancing over to the child to see if she was alright, to his relief, the rabbit child had barely changed at all. Then, it suddenly occurred to him that the large object overhead just might come loose. His eyes darted over to the gigantic machine that towered over the small rabbit. His expression became focused, his eyes long yellow blades, as if he was daring it to come down. Of course, the large machine decided to fall.

At once, the child's eyes snapped onto the falling object, her eyes widening in terror. She shut her eyes, bracing for the impact of the large object slamming against her frail body, crushing her under in an instant. Araerasco dove beneath the large machine moments before impact. His limbs burned under the weight of the bulky hunk of metal, his shell straining under the effort of keeping itself off the ground.

It took the child a moment to realize that the crushing impact had been delayed. Slowly, her eyes opened again, and they fell onto the larger frame before her. Two piercing yellow eyes glared back at her, and she couldn't help but shrink back a little back despite knowing that this newcomer would not dare bring her harm.

Seeing the small rabbit trembling underneath him, Araerasco softened a bit. He had not meant to scare the child, but he assumed that if he were in her place, with a larger being appearing out of nowhere, towering over him, he might have been fearful as well. He opened his mouth, probably to comfort the child, but she spoke first.

"We're going to die, aren't we?"

The words he was going to say died in his throat. For a moment, he was left speechless. Most of the children he knew were bright and energetic. Never had he considered the possibility that a child could be reduced to something like this. Then, he took a look around him. Fires raged on in the surrounding area, all exits from the building had been cut off, the child's mother had left her behind. Now he and the rabbit child had found themselves trapped under a large object, and even then, he was straining to hold the massive weight on his shell in place. With this in mind, he understood how a child could think such negative thoughts, as they would see no other option other than giving up.

"We're not going to die." Araerasco's words were loud and clear, despite the crackling of the flames around them. The rabbit looked up, meeting the gaze of the large armadillo looming over her, and her eyes gave away what she was going to say moments before the words left her mouth.

"How?" the rabbit girl asked.

Araerasco just looked back on the object he held on his shell, his expression constant. "If doors one and two are sealed off tight," he growled, "you'll have to make yourself a third way out." Two plates on the top of his shell slid back with a low, quiet screeching noise. Two drill bits popped out of the openings in his shell, quickly embedding themselves into the metallic surface above. With a high-pitched grinding noise, the drills slowly drove themselves deeper inside. Since Araerasco had worked with Alow for a sizeable amount of his projects, he knew for certain that Alow to have his machines be portable, and for a number of them, he had a button installed on the back that would collapse whatever it was attached to if pressed. All he needed to do was drill through, and find that button.

A small click interrupted his train of thought. For a moment, the world remained unchanged. Then, the machine above him bloomed into a fiery explosion, hailing down scorching debris onto the ground below. Araerasco's larger frame shielded the rabbit from the explosion, but by now his shell had been worn away for long enough, and a bit of the heat seeped through, causing the armadillo to wince as his shell was pelted with flames.

Or he could ignite some part of the machine and cause it to explode.

Now that he no longer had a massive weight pressing down on him, Araerasco was able to lift himself off the floor. Shaking off the smaller pieces of metal still stuck on his thick hide, he glanced around, looking for some way to escape. Much to his disappointment, no such exit made itself known.

Without a second to lose, Araerasco snatched up the child with his mouth, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the rabbit. He bounded over to the side, his eyes scanning over the wall before him. As his eyes carefully examined every inch of the solid surface blocking his path, he dug deep into his memory for even the smallest details of the frame that lay behind.

He shuffled sideways, muttering quietly to himself about the architecture of the building. The child in his grasp began to grow restless, and she started to squirm in the firm grip of his jaws. When she received no response, her struggles only became more numerous. The only indication that he noticed her actions was that a low growl emitted from the throat behind the rabbit. Her struggling ceased at once, and she slowly glanced up to meet the gaze of the bright yellow eyes above her.

"What is it?" Araerasco said, a menacing tone buried in his voice.

The rabbit began to feel a little more fearful, hearing such a menacing tone. She hesitated, before she asked, "What is taking you so long?"

Araerasco huffed, annoyed. "Unless you want me to bring down the entire building, you should let me do whatever I have to do," he grumbled, in a tone that one would use as if they were saying the most obvious thing in the world. These words did have its intended effect, however, as the rabbit closed her mouth. Satisfied with the response, Araerasco's piercing yellow eyes left the child held firmly in his jaws, and continued to scan the wall before him.

Then he stopped. Eyes set on one specific section of the wall, he racked his memory for any detail he could find on this specific part of the wall. All he could find was that the wall had no structure behind it that would affect the other parts of the building. Without a moment of hesitation, he sprung into action. Taking a step closer to the surface before him, he extended the drill bits at his side, stretching them over the front of his shell. A rumble emitted from the blades as they began to spin, starting slowly at first, before they slowly began to pick up speed. The drills buzzed loudly as they finally bit into the wall in places next to each other, before gouging themselves deeper inside, sinking through like a hot blade against clay. Then, as the drill heads met fresh air, and small pieces to flew out from the wall, Araerasco slowly pulled them apart, steadily carving out a hole in the wall. An exit gradually began to take form as the cut in the wall began to get wider, letting in more outside air.

The drills had just touched the floor, finishing the cut, when the cut-out section began to shake. A groan sounded off as the wall began to fall outward, sending bits of debris falling to the ground below, but an arm shot out moments before it tumbled over the edge. Hastily reeling it back in, the moment it was fully over solid ground again, Araerasco flung it over to the side, causing it to crash against the floor with a loud clatter. The armadillo paused for a moment, eyes set on the piece of wall, before he snapped his head back over to the opening, remembering the task at hand.

Araerasco, with the rabbit clutched in his jaws, finally emerged from the building. They were weary and burnt all over. Araerasco looked especially ragged, with scorch marks that streaked down his side and sweat pouring out from underneath his scales and armor. But at least they were alive.

On the ground, the crowd of monsters huddled underneath burst into cheers. Araerasco stepped forward to escape the confines of the building, but he met solid resistance from the side. In his rush, he had not made his opening wide enough for him to fully pass through.

Araerasco attempted to speak, but his voice was drowned out by the murmurers of the crowd. His attempt was not completely futile, as someone down below had noticed his attempt to speak.

"Quiet!" A voice called out from the crowd. "Silence! The counselor speaks!"

At this, the other voices quieted down, until all that was left was a quiet murmur. As soon as the air was void of sound, save for the crackling of the flames beneath, Araerasco spoke again. "Could someone please come over so I can relieve my jaws of this burden?"

A soft whisper flowed through the crowd again. This time, a taller rabbit monster stepped out of the crowd. She rushed over to the foot of the building, arms outstretched as if to assure him that she could make the catch. With a sigh of relief, Araerasco let go of the child, dropping the baby into her mother's waiting arms. His eyes never left the child, watching her fall to the ground, before safely landing in her mother's outstretched arms. The rabbit monster looked back at the armadillo monster, who gave a sigh of relief, knowing that the child was safe again.

His eyes wandered back to walls at his side. Taking a step back, the drills at his sides sputtered to a start. He stepped back to give himself more room, keeping mindful of the objects behind him. The drills at his sides began to go faster and faster as they inched closer to the surface. Sweat began to pour from cracks in his armor as the fire grew more intense. A low rumble came from below, and the floor shook. Araerasco froze in fear. Then, underneath him, something snapped, and the building came tumbling down.

The floor caved in below the armadillo monster. He scrabbled against the floor, but was unable to stop himself from sliding away from the exit. He watched the gaping hole in the wall grow smaller, escape nothing but a distant fantasy now. The walls collapsed around him, flames tearing through the rubble and scorching him all over. As if the flames from afar weren't hot enough, now that they were licking at his sides the only way he could describe the feeling was... pain. The fact that large chunks of wood and metal were hailing down on him, ramming into his worn shell, crushing him underneath their weight.

Being one of the king's more intellectual men, he had plenty of memories of conversations he had with other monsters of similar intellectual power. Of those conversations, now mostly faded and dry, he remembered a philosopher once asked him what it would be like to have death be something one so desperately desired. At that moment, Araerasco could not answer the question, as since he was an architect, not a member of the army, he could not imagine what kind of thought process would evoke such a desire. Now, as he was being pressed under the weight of what must have been a few hundred, or even thousands of tons, as his sides felt contact with tongues that felt soft, but left a blossoming feeling of being crushed from the inside, he had a solid answer to that question. He was suffering terribly. The blissful sleep of death would make it all go away.

He had remembered that Alow had once said to him that he could be surrounded with the best security technology the lab had to offer, and he still would feel unsafe, but inside one of his own creations, he would be completely at ease, even if the creation had only taken a few minutes to construct. Whenever he chided someone for being too trusting of their surroundings, Alow would always joke that the trust he had in his own constructions could get him killed as well. As it turns out, the scientist was right. He had expected the building to hold out longer, simply because it was his own, and now he would die for his mistake. That was the last thought that entered his mind.

Terrified citizens watched as the building that had once towered over them crumbled to the ground, with the armadillo monster still inside. Dust was stirred up into large clouds that blanketed over the landscape. As the clouds began to settle to the ground, monsters turned to look back at the rubble. They watched for any sign that the councilor was still alive. A minute passed by. Then another. The pile of rubble barely even gave the slightest twitch. Eventually, they began to realize that to wait was futile, and one by one, they began to turn their backs to the fallen building. Slowly, they filed out of the area, to the land beyond, conversing quietly with each other. But the rabbit girl never looked away. Her curious eyes never left the rubble until it was no longer in sight. She knew that something important had just happened. Her childish mind just could not process why everyone seemed so upset. As the fallen construct disappeared from sight, the thought gradually faded from her mind, but somewhere in the back of her head, it had left a nagging doubt about her world.

* * *

She awoke to the sight of her mother kneeling over her, with snow in her fur. The rabbit girl groaned, clutching her aching head as the world spun around her. As her head began to clear, and the word came into focus, she realized her mother had been speaking to her.

"-alright! I was so worried about you!"

At first, the rabbit girl just stared back. Slowly sitting up, she blinked as the fog in her mind slowly lifted out of her mind, the fire behind her warming her backside, and the first words that spilled from her mouth were: "Who was he? The monster who saved me from the fire?"

The rabbit mother looked confused. "Undyne?" she asked softly.

The small girl stopped. She quickly racked her mind for a memory of such a figure, but all she could find was empty space. Suddenly, the face of a fish monster came to her, a wild grin plastered on the fish woman's face. "No, not Undyne," the rabbit child replied. "The monster from the other fire. The fire from before."

Upon catching a glance at her mother's confused face, the rabbit girl was filled with disappointment.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," the rabbit mother said. "This is the only fire we've had in the inn."

"No, not a fire at the inn," the girl muttered. "It was a fire somewhere else." Her eyes flitted around, searching for something she could use to jog her mother's memory. Then, she stopped, for off in the distance, she saw the shadow of a large mountain looming overhead. Slowly, she lifted her finger to the direction of the mountain looming overhead.

"There," the child said, excitement building up in her voice. "That's where the fire was."

The rabbit innkeeper glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of what her daughter was pointing at. "Shadow Mountain? I don't think we've ever been there."

Her daughter deflated, all the excitement blowing out of her like a leaking balloon. Taking notice of this, her mother hastily added, "Can you describe him to me? Maybe that will help me remember."

The girl brightened instantly. "Well, he was big and yellow, and crawled on the ground with four paws, though I think he might have had an extra pair of paws."

The rabbit woman pondered this for a moment. "Maybe it was Monster Kid's father," she said.

"No!" the rabbit girl huffed. "They only have four paws. I'm sure this monster had six. Besides, he also had pointy ears and a long snout, with red scales on the edges of the giant shell on his back, and he had eyes that were yellow like... like..." the little girl paused as she attempted to find the right word to complete the simile. "Like cheese! That's it!"

Her mother's expression morphed back into a confused one. "I'm sorry, I don't think such a monster ever lived in the Underground."

The sound of snow crunching underneath metal prompted both rabbits to glance over to the side. A tall figure in a suit of armor approached the two rabbit monsters, a long red ponytail trailing behind her, and a serious expression taking the place of a toothy grin on her face.

"Is your little girl alright?" Undyne asked the rabbit woman kneeling on the ground, her single eye giving off a searching look.

The rabbit innkeeper hastily got to her feet, brushing off the chunks off snow that lay on her dress. "She is doing well," she said, prompting a nod from the captain of the Royal Guard.

"That's good to hear," Undyne replied gruffly. She turned to leave, but the rabbit woman stopped her.

"Wait!" she called out. The fish monster turned back around, giving her an inquisitive look.

"What is it?"

The mother motioned towards her child sitting in the snow. "My child here says that she remembers a monster who had once saved her from a fire, but I can't seem to remember them at all."

Undyne raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Could you describe this monster to me?"

"Well," the rabbit woman explained, "he apparently had pointy ears and a long snout, along with a large shell on his back. He also happened to have a coloration of yellow and red, along with yellow eyes."

"And six paws!" the child added from below.

"And six paws," the innkeeper repeated. Undyne's eyes went over to the side as she dug deep into her mind, attempting to find any memories she had of such a monster.

"I'm sorry," Undyne said apologetically. "I can't seem to recall anyone like that."

Again, the rabbit girl's eyes were filled with disappointment. The snow crunched beside her again as the captain of the Royal Guard knelt down. Then, she said, "Look; I read in the lab that sometimes, we mistake dreams for reality, so the monster you might have thought you remembered might actually have been a dream."

"But it wasn't a dream!" the girl protested. "It felt so real, I could..." Her face became downcast as she trailed off, thinking that no one would believe her.

"I'm sorry dear," her mother said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, why don't we go next door and see if your auntie has any hot chocolate. Maybe that would cheer you up."

"Alright," the rabbit girl replied in a sullen tone. Slowly getting to her feet, she watched as her mother took the first few steps towards the purple rabbit standing in front of the store next door. She turned back, and watched as Undyne barked orders at the Royal Guardsmen desperately attempting to fight back the flames. Her eyes wandered to the location of the fire, and at once her mind was brought back to the monster she faintly remembered. Her mind lingered for a moment, before she shook it off. Perhaps it was all just a dream, as Undyne had said. As she turned back around to follow her mother, however, she couldn't quite shake off the ghost of a feeling that still hung around in the back of her mind.

* * *

"...Will the spell affect our aging process?"

" _This question has been the first you have asked me whenever you approach me in hopes of gaining my aid in a situation that requires the use of magic. Why is this so?_ "

"I simply concerned for the wellbeing of my dear friends."

" _Or perhaps you are more concerned about accidentally interrupting the regularity of their daily lives, to create a drastic shift in what is considered normal._ "

"...Perhaps..."

" _I do not believe so. The spell mostly affects the mind. The most impact it would have on the age of the denizens of the Underground would be_ temporary _blocking the aging delay effects of the crystals, but it would only last for a few seconds before everyone reverts back to their normal varied aging rates. The possibility of this occurring is also extremely low, so I would not worry about this at all._ "


	5. Meeting

Took me a day longer than I expected to get another chapter out for this story, because I get distracted all the dang time. (and it seems like my computer is holding something against me)

Anyway, I don't own Undertale because I am a sad man with a sad life.

* * *

The clock read three hours until midnight.

...

Haltress thought it was a fitting time for the world to end. As he watched the last of the civilians file out of the room, feeding into one dark tunnel out of many that decorated the rocky surface before him. The snake monster's tongue flicked out, catching the scent of fear in the air. It was a scent that had exploded in prevalence the moment the genocide began, and the snake monster still had yet to get used to its reek.

A soft noise slipped by his ears, like a gentle cool breeze passing through. Barely even a whisper, if he were anywhere else, had he not held the position of councilor for this long, he might have mistaken the presence beside him simply as a paranoid feeling. Years of experience, however, had drilled into his skull that it was something more than a weightless breeze passing by. At once, the snake narrowed his glowing yellow eyes until they were barely more than slivers of light.

Again, a soft voice brushed past him, gracing his ears with a message. Although it was barely audible, past encounters with the secondary presence in the room helped him decipher words from the quiet mumble. "The council elder is holding a meeting. Will you attend?"

In response, Haltress moved his lips in such a subtle way that from afar it would look like nothing at all, but it was enough to convey a message back to the quiet voice. "I will be there."

Just like that, the air in the space around the snake monster suddenly felt vacant again, as if an invisible weight had just been lifted from the atmosphere. The speaker had left the room, leaving Haltress alone again. It only took a moment for the reptilian monster to regain his composure. He trained his ears to the dark tunnel that just a moment ago contained the last of the evacuating monsters. As the last remnants of their voices faded away in his ears, he took one last look down the gaping hole, noting how the hollow seemed to stretch on forever, like an endless void beyond the confines of time. Then, he finally tore his eyes away from the hole, slipping off into another hole gouged out to the side.

The luster of his scarlet armor vanished the same moment he was encapsulated by darkness. The only source of light he had was the faint glow of his eyes, tracing over every crack in the rocky wall and edge protruding out into the corridor as he slithered deeper into the cave. As he went further, the snake monster's patience began to grow thin. He felt as if he had been traveling for hours, although the more rational side of him told him it was probably just a few minutes. Haltress was not a monster of much patience, and as precious seconds slipped by, he began to believe that he might have taken a wrong turn. Just when he was contemplating turning back, a faint blue light flickered from the far end of the hallway. His pace only increased, speeding down the corridor to enter a vast chamber dug out in the cave, with small holes on the ceiling providing a small amount of light a place to bleed through into the enclosed space below.

Upon sliding into the extensive room, he was greeted to the sight of a bulky figure, covered from head to toe in thick armor, hunched over, sitting on one of the stones scattered about. Shining blue eyes fell on the green scaled snake monster, and the armored monster steadily rose to his feet, his thick plating groaning in protest at the strain of lifting itself up from the rock it was sitting on a moment before. Standing at full height, the monster towered over the serpent, who only stood by his tail, his silver armor glinting in the dim light from above, shining stronger from the soft glow of the bright blue energy the monster was giving off. The armored monster's eyes crackled with fierce energy, blue sparks shooting out from the slits in his mask and the larger triangular hole above his eye slits as he cast his gaze upon the smaller serpentine monster.

"Hiesstone," the armored monster said in greeting.

"Incinerate," was the snake's response as he made his way over to one of the stones lying on the floor with light beating down on the backside of his armor. "Hass Shandryll made her way back here yet?"

Incinerate motioned an armored hand over to the motionless pile of red and gold cloth crumpled on the floor, and Haltress nodded in understanding. Almost as soon as that interaction had taken place, the cloth began to rise from the floor. A dark formless blob oozed out of the shadows in the cave, quietly sliding under the cloth before it forced itself out of the ground and began to take shape. The bits of gold that seemed to be randomly splattered about on the fabric suddenly began to organize themselves into a thick lining that crusted the edges of the crimson cloth, and the top hastily rolled itself back into a hood. Two thin saddened eyes rose from inside the cloak, and the fabric underneath began to tremble. As the bottom of the cloak receded until only the fringes touched the floor, and a small, petite cloaked figure stood before the two other remaining councilors, her hazy form flickering underneath a blanket of crimson.

The two pumps on the armored monster pressed down, and thin pillow of smoke spilled out of the vents hidden behind his helmet. At once, two pairs of eyes snapped on to his heavily built form.

Incinerate was the first to speak, his baritone voice loud and clear inside the cave. "As the current council elder, I've called a meeting to discuss the current situation."

"What iss there to disscusss?" Haltress said back, his answer short and to the point. "That human iss unsstopable."

"I never said anything about killing it outright," Incinerate replied. "I am suggesting that we create a plan of action to ensure minimal casualties."

"Sso we're jusst going to ignore the fact that more than half of the council hass jusst been killed?" Haltress said.

"Calling a meeting to count our losses would be pointless," Incinerate growled, a metallic tang in his resounding voice, "and turning this meeting into one such event would take up valuable time that could have been spent on something more useful."

Haltress narrowed his eyes, clearly disagreeing with what the armored monster had said. "Very well," he hissed. "You'll have my ears for whatever harebrained plan you've created to save the Underground."

"Thank you."

"Well, then who else must die in order for you to be able to enact your brilliant plan?" Haltress spat, eyes brimmed with hostility. At once, sparks of energy overflowed from the armored monster's eyes, and steam poured out in gallons as anger boiled up inside him.

"Why must you be so hostile to this meeting?" Incinerate said, throwing up his arms in exasperation.

"The when we listened to that plan of yours and Scrapheap's, my entire force was killed," was the snake monster's response.

"We didn't have any better option, did we?" Incinerate shot back. "I mean, it wasn't like Mel was going to rise from the grave and burst in with another brilliant strategy already laid out in her head, and if my memory serves me correctly, you took part in the planning as well."

"That's not-" Haltress hissed in frustration. The four arm-like pieces floating at his side clenched their digits into fists. His tail flicked to the side as he began to slither forward, only to feel a strong presence by his side. His yellow eyes glanced over to the right, and he saw Shandryll staring back at him with a softened gaze.

"Haltress," she said, her feminine voice drifted through the empty chamber, floating through the air as lightly as the clouds in the sky. "I know that you are not in the most mentally fit state as of now, but I ask you to try to calm down. We can't afford to have a fight break out at such a fragile moment."

The snake monster let out a heavy sigh. His arms dropped to his side, and he turned to sit down on one of the stones scattered about. Seeing his hostility fade from the eyes of the snake monster, Incinerate dropped his guarded stance, anger evaporating like the steam flowing out from behind his mask. "Your assistance is much appreciated, Drislyss. As stated before, we require a plan to deal with the current human crisis, and I would like to know if anyone else has been able to formulate a plan appropriate for the situation at hand."

Silence. For a moment, that was all that lingered in the air. Shandryll took this as an invitation to speak. "Well, I-" was as far as she got before she was cut off.

"Sseeing ass how you were the one who initiated all thiss, why don't you give uss your idea?" Haltress said, his forked tongue flicking in and out of his mouth.

Incinerate shifted feet, the joints in his armor emitting a quiet groan of protest. "The human has yet to face our strongest monsters, Asgore is the strongest monster in the underground, so sending him against the human has the smallest possibility of resulting in a victory."

"I thought you ssaid that we were not going to try to kill the human?" Haltress pointed out.

"I only stated that a plan without the elimination of the human was an acceptable possibility," Incinerate responded, "and I know that it is not the most solid of schemes, but it was the best I could come up with on such short notice."

"Ssuch a ssimple plan would never ssucceed," Haltress said dismissively. "Bessidess, the king hass hardly been in a fit sstate of mind. At least, not ssince..." The snake monster trailed off. Shandryll and Incinerate exchanged uneasy glances.

White smoke streamed out from behind Incinerate's mask, and he cleared his throat. "Such is an example of the flaws in the plan I created. I would have never called the council again had I come up with a flawless scheme."

"Thiss iss why sstrategic planning is best left to the ones most suited for it," Haltress remarked.

"Well then," the armored monster said back, "why don't you give us a plan if you think you are better suited for this kind of task?"

Haltress narrowed his eyes. He flicked his tongue, as the choking silence wrapped around the reptilian monster. Finally, he said, "You know, Mel wass awayss more ssuited for thiss kind of planning."

Incinerate only responded with an irritated huff.

"I believe I have a possible solution to the human situation," Shandryll called out. At once, two pairs of eyes were on her.

"Why didn't you bring it up earlier?" the snake grumbled.

"I tried earlier."

Haltress opened his mouth to respond, only to close it again. Incinerate threw the serpentine monster a sideways glance, before his eyes returned to the small cloaked figure.

"Well, I apologize for disregarding your presence," the armored monster said. "Please, do enlighten us on the proceedings of your plan."

"Both of you have acknowledged that defeating the human is not a viable option, so I suggest that we hide somewhere and wait for the human to pass through," Shandryll said. The two other councilors just sat in silence as her eyes flitted between them, reading the emotions swirling around in their eyes, searching for the slightest reaction.

Incinerate was the first to break the silence. "This idea certainly could work, but where would we hide it out?"

Shandryll sighed. The small shadow monster's the crimson cloak began to billow as she was lifted into the air by the wind. Her eyes glowed bright yellow, and at once, shadows spilled out from underneath the bright gold lining of her cloak. Dark clouds bled onto the floor, before they finally began to thin out, forming a map of the underground.

"The final destination set as of now is New Home," Shandryll said softly. As if to emphasize her point, the area designated New Home on the map began to emit a soft glow. "There just so happens to be an elevator in the area closest to Hotland that leads directly to the lab." On the map laid out on the floor, Hotland glowed a gentle shade of yellow as well. "Therefore, Hotland would be the most logical place to hide."

Haltress hissed in disagreement. "What'ss to sstop the human from circling back?"

Shandryll's disheartened eyes fell on the snake monster. "I have numerous witnesses who've survived encounters with the human, all of which were due to them hiding in places well hidden or places where the human had already cleared out. The human does not appear to be someone who thoroughly combs through areas, and he certainly doesn't round back to places he's already been in."

"Well, won't the human be ssusspiciouss ass to why there would be an elevator leading to Hotland located in New Home?" Haltress said back.

"Such an action is just not something that the human would do," Shandryll sighed, saddened at her colleague's distrust.

"Hiesstone," Incinerate growled, stepping forward to glare at the snake monster. "I believe that you have outstayed any usefulness you might have had in this meeting."

The snake monster grumbled angrily to himself, shifting himself away from the rest of the councilors. Turning back to Shandryll, the armored monster said, "The only flaw I can see in your plan is that considering the large number of monsters in need of transportation and the limited space of the elevator, it would take a substantial amount of time to transport all the monsters into the lab, would it not?"

"I have considered that," the small cloaked monster said, her eyes slowly falling to the floor, knowing what came next. "The conclusion I reached was that someone would have to stay behind." She looked back at the armored monster's eyes. To her surprise, her gaze was met with that of understanding.

"I suppose it would be too good if it were that we could leave with zero casualties," Incinerate mumbled softly. "Do not feel bad about this. No heroic goes without sacrifice, after all."

"I suppose so," Shandryll responded, averting her eyes once again.

"Well," the armored monster said, rising from his seat with a resounding creak from his armor, "since I am the most disposable monster, I shall stay behind in the Lofty Gardens to buy you the time you need to escape."

This stirred a response from the snake monster in the corner almost instantly. "What are you ssaying?" he yelled, jumping up from his seat. "You're not the most disspossable monster here! You're the head of the council and the ssecond mosst sstrongesst monsster in the Underground right now!"

"And that is precisely why I have to stay behind!" The armored monster retorted. "Asgore won't fight, Gerson is the last remaining high profile member of the guard, and anyone else who was powerful enough to keep the human distracted for a substantial amount of time." Incinerate then slumped down again, and became silent. The two pumps on his back pressed down, and steam gushed out of the vents on his armor. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again.

"If I were to perish, my role as the elder of the clan would swiftly be passed on, and all would continue as normal. If anyone else were to die, there would be no one to fill in their role, especially that in the lives of those affected by them."

Haltress exhaled heavily, knowing that this was a fight he could not win. Finally, he said, "This better be worth it."

With a low grunt, Incinerate straightened himself up again. "Alright," he called out, his loud voice resounding through the chamber. "We have finally come to a conclusion on the proceedings of what is to happen next. I now call this meeting to a close, and I shall go catch up with the rest of the monsters to inform Gerson of our plan of action. Any monster who objects may speak up now." Silence was all that followed.

"Very well then," Incinerate said, relieved. He turned towards the exit, preparing to set off when a quiet voice reached out to him again.

"Incinerate." He turned his head over to meet the gaze of the smaller shadow monster behind him.

"What is it that you require?" he asked.

"Could I have a moment with Haltress?" Shandryll said, her voice like an almost unnoticeable spring breeze. "We'll catch up with you later."

"You may," the armored monster replied.

"Thank you."

The council head just nodded in response, before he ran off into one of the dark tunnels, a faint blue glowing aura surrounding him as he was enveloped by darkness. The two councilors remained silent, listening to the sound of metal clanging against the floor, watching as the blue light quickly faded away. After what seemed like an eternity, the snake shattered the interrogative silence.

"What do you want with me?" Haltress grumbled in annoyance.

Shandryll murmured, "Your mental state is troubling. Whatever happened to your usual snappy demeanor? Why are you so emotional now?"

Haltress said nothing at first. He just stood there, facing down the smaller monster. "It'ss hard to losse a friend," the reptilian monster finally responded, "but to losse sso many in ssuch a short sspan of time?"

"It can be difficult to deal with loss." Shandryll spoke quietly. "But it takes much to dissuade the bright-spirited Haltress. It's not just that, isn't it?"

"You know me all too well," Haltress said with a sigh. "I guess I'm also a bit ticked that we haven't got the chance to finally mourn those who we've lost. I feel as if we're disrespecting them by disregarding their deaths right now."

"Well right now is not the most optimal time for mourning, is it?"

"I suppose not."

"With a crisis on our hands," Shandryll reasoned, "now is the time for us to take action. To act as leaders."

"I suppose that is true."

"I know how you feel," the cloaked monster mumbled comfortingly, "but there will be a time for mourning later."

"I did not maintain my attitude well, did I?" the snake monster said bashfully.

"There will always be a time to regain your honor," Shandryll responded, slowly brightening. "Now let us get moving. We're going to have to move fast if we want to catch up with the others."

The two glanced down at the dark tunnel leading out, only to be greeted to the sight of countless dark passages looming overhead. There were a few seconds of inner confusion as to which passage to go down, before Haltress asked, "Do you remember which one leads out?"

Shandryll did not have a response to his question. She remained absorbed in her thoughts, and another moment of silence passed. "I'll scout ahead and find a way out," she finally said. "You stay here." Then, in the blink of an eye, her cloak tumbled to the floor, empty again. Haltress' eyes remained on the disheveled mess of a cloak laid on the floor, now a chaotic jumble of red and gold.

As the snake monster stood, waiting for the shadow monster to return, he suddenly realized that the mood in the room had shifted. He tested the temperature, his eyes darted about the room, taking in every little detail, all under a second. Then his eyes snapped onto the floor, and he realized something was off about his shadow. He very vaguely remembered that his shadow was supposed to be positioned in front of him, but instead, it was trailing slightly behind him, meaning that one of the holes in the ceiling high up above had been blocked by a new presence. His tongue tasted the air for a brief moment, and almost immediately he caught the whiff of smoke, of killing intent and intense hatred, and the unmistakable stench of human.

He never had the chance to turn around.

* * *

Shandryll frantically scoured through every tunnel. Not a single corner was left unchecked, not a single crack ignored. The shadows under her command kept track of every twist and turn they took, giving the shadow monster a map of the entirety of the interior of the mountain.

Incinerate had always prided himself as being one of the most powerful source of energy in the Underground, and being a monster made entirely out of energy, one would think that he would leave a strong trail behind him. This was not the case, as the armored monster barely left even the slightest trace, and each small piece left behind by him was extremely valuable in her search for an exit.

Drifting past stones and rocks hanging down towards the ground, she pounced upon even the slimmest clue. Rushing into the farthest reaches of the cave like a gentle breeze, Shandryll was determined to find the exit before anything happened to the snake monster waiting for her back at the large cave. She already knew that by this time, the human would have entered the mountain, but with its numerous long and winding passages, she hoped that the human would get lost in the complex maze that was the inside of the mountain, buying her enough time to find an exit and lead Haltress back to the group.

Then, she caught sight of a light down one of the tunnels. In an instant, the entirety of her being converged back into a single monster inside that passageway. Cautiously, she drifted towards the light, inching forward at a slow pace. The rocks underneath her were barely disturbed by her presence as she flew above the ground, carefully making her way to the source of the light. Finally, at the opening, she inched over the edge... and to her relief, she found herself outside again. She looked at the ground below, and underneath she saw a vast stretch of lush green and white. She caught sight of the large group of monsters waiting below, and satisfied with her finding, she slipped back into the cave and breezed back through the narrow stone corridors to the place from which she started.

The shadow monster materialized back in her cape, inside the room once again, only to find it empty. The familiar glimmer of the red and green armor the snake monster wore was no longer visible; she couldn't even find a trace of the green scales that coated his body. Then she noticed a glint of red lying below her. Her eyes fell on the floor, and a gasp of fear almost escaped her lips. The bright red chestplate was lying on the floor, covered with the dust of the monster who had worn it.

Shandryll found the human hiding in the corner almost immediately. Her head snapped over in his direction, her yellow eyes now sharp and piercing as she glared at the boy. Her eyes released a blinding golden glow, and a strong wind set down into the large chamber. The stones on the floor began to rise as the gust pushed them off the ground and into the air, spinning them in circles around the room. The human almost found himself knocked over by the sudden gush of air but remained standing. The red and gold cloak billowed in the wind as the shadow monster began to rise into the air. Then, shadows gushed out from underneath, spilling out onto the floor and taking shape of a large circular diagram with five symbols on display; an eye, a gust of air, a leaf, a wave, and a hand. Each of the symbols lit up with glaring white light, bright enough to cause the human to lift an arm in an attempt to shield his eyes from the light.

A crack opened on the lower half of the shadow monster's head, blood red light spilling through the monster's mouth. Shandryll opened her jagged lips into a wicked grin, and her formless face stretching out from underneath the cloak.

The human took a step back as the strong winds began to prevail against him and the dust scratched against his face, feeling the darkness oozing from the shadow monster. His arm flailed in all directions, reaching out into empty space. Shandryll advanced onto the struggling human, her mouth only gaping wider. Then, the human's hand slipped into his back pocket and pulled out a lighter. With the press of a button, sparks were sent flying out into the air. The shadow monster pulled back with a shriek of terror, and she quickly attempted to retract the shadows that leaked out from her cloak, but the damage had been done.

The sparks sailed through the air, and although the wind extinguished most of them, and the few that survived bounced harmlessly off her cloak, all it took was a single ember, and the shadow monster was set alight. Shandryll burst into flame, her undefined form twisting in a display of agony, and in a matter of seconds the fire consumed most of the shadows that made up her body. The final thought that entered her mind was: "How did he know?"

As if a switch had been pulled, the howling winds stopped in an instant, and stones clattered to the floor. All that remained of Shandryll was a charred crimson cloak lined with gold. As the human stood back, eyes on the dust of the monsters that lay scattered on the floor, he noticed a form out of the corner of his eye. Looking up to the ceiling, his glare was met with that of another peeking into the chamber from above. The human raised his weapon and fired. The quiet observer disappeared from sight moments before the bullet reached his head, barely missing by inches. Then, he heard an audible buzz from outside as the monster lifted off from the side of the mountain and into the sky. The buzzing sound continued to resound in the human's ears long after it had already faded away.

* * *

Incinerate looked up the moment a loud buzzing filled his ears, and he saw a large insect-like monster fly down from the sky. The moment he was a few feet off the ground, his wings stilled, and he fell to the ground landing with a thud. The insect quickly rose to his feet, and gave the councilor a salute.

"Do you have any information on the current status of the other two, Quantantus?" The armored monster asked, his baritone voice barely disguising his underlying concern.

"Unfortunately, they have perished," the bug monster said in a raspy voice, bowing his head. "I had only arrived in time to witness the death of the councilor Shandryll."

Incinerate remained silent for a minute. Then, he said, "Thank you for your service. You are dismissed."

Quantantus nodded apologetically in response, before he lumbered past the armored monster. As he stepped beside the councilor, he quickly leaned into the side of his mask, hastily telling him something else, before leaving Incinerate to think alone.

"Incinerate?"

The armored councilor turned his head over to see Gerson slowly approaching him, and adjusted the rest of his body to face the old turtle monster.

"Gerson," he rumbled. "What brings you here?"

"I overheard about the deaths of Haltress and Shandryll," Gerson replied. "I just wanted to offer my condolences."

"They were good colleagues," Incinerate said with a sigh, his voice cracking with emotion. "They will be missed."

"Well, now you're the only councilor left," the captain of the guard responded, patting the armored monster on the shoulder. "You told me earlier that you planned on staying behind to hold off the human while the rest of us went back to Hotland," he continued, his voice beginning to leave behind hints of worry. "Are you still willing to do that? If you die, that would leave no one else to pass on the legacy of the council. I mean, after this is all over, we could just create a new council, but it wouldn't be the same without someone to guide the new councilors."

"I have to do this," Incinerate said, his voice normally devoid of emotion, now leaking with the slightest traces of sadness. "If not to uphold my duty to serve the monsters of the Underground, if not to honor the final confrontation I had with my fellow councilors and to honor the deaths of my friends."

"Alright then," Gerson sighed. "I didn't come here with the intent of convincing you otherwise. I just wanted to see if you had changed your mind." He turned around to leave, before he turned back around again. "Oh, and Incinerate?" he asked, his voice suddenly becoming softer. "Try not to let your emotions get the best of you."

Incinerate only acknowledged this by releasing a cloud of smoke from the vents behind his mask. Gerson just sighed, turning back to the crowd going forward, and left the final councilor behind to contemplate in the deathly silence in the middle of the lush green gardens.


	6. Incinerate

I finally stick to my schedule. Someone write this date down, this is a historical moment right here. I worked really hard on this one

Anyway, if I owned Undertale, it would be a pretty big deal. Like I'm talking a huge deal, as huge of a deal as the wall. But I don't own Undertale, and I'm not the president of the United States.

* * *

The clock read half an hour until midnight.

...

Such a shame that one of them would not live to see the bell toll for twelve.

As the moon shone high in the sky above the surface, in the Underground a battle raged on. Two large blue bolts of energy crawled through the air as if it were molasses, emitting an aura of highly concentrated energy. The human slowly sidestepped the projectiles as they sauntered past him, missing his SOUL by a mile, only ever so slightly confused before he turned back to face the armored monster, weapon at the ready. The file he had read on this particular monster claimed that he was one of the stronger councilors, something which his greeting had only confirmed, yet it seemed that the best he had to offer appeared to be such a weak attack. This was going to be an easy victory for him. Then the two energy orbs touched the floor.

The instant they made impact, they burst like balloons, releasing all the concentrated energy trapped inside in a forceful wave of scorching heat. The ground shook as the explosion melted the earth beneath, and the human barely even had time to turn around before he was slammed from behind by a blast of energy and sent sprawling to the side. It took a second for his head to stop spinning as he steadily got to his feet again. By the time his mind cleared, he spotted another pair of energy orbs forming in the monster's hands, and realized that he may have spoken too soon.

Incinerate let loose a second round of energy bolts, sparking with blue lighting as they left his hands. The human cut through the green field in an attempt to evade the oncoming fire. Each burst of energy was massive, however, and every time they went off they would often grazing the human's side, leaving a nasty scorch mark on the side of his jacket. The bursts of energy kept hailing down onto him like rocks in an avalanche, and the human had to scramble to keep up, barely given a moment to search for an opening.

Then, the next two blasts flew completely awry. Without having to worry about another force pushing him off his feet, the human finally had the opening he so desperately needed, and the human pounced upon the opportunity without a second thought. Acting quickly, he steadied his aim just as his opponent began to prepare an attack. With a bright flash from the barrel of his revolver, he fired upon one of the glowing orbs of energy held in clutches of his hands. In an instant, the armored monster was consumed in a blaze of blue, and for a moment, the human had a flash of hope that the battle would be over just like that. Of course, he had no such luck. As the smoke began to part, a bulky figure began to reveal itself through the clouds. The human charged at the monster, reaching into his backpack as he did so, pulling out a flashy metal bracelet and snapping it onto his hand.

A click sounded off, and plates slid out from under the bracelet. Gears shifted, complex mechanics snapped parts into place as pieces of metal reached out to cover his hand. Two larger metal rods extended out, before snapping around and connecting together, letting off a flash of sparks as they made contact.

The armored monster didn't even wait for the smoke to fully clear. With a grunt, he leapt out of the crater created by the explosion, causing the smoke to be blown away by the force he carried himself with. As his opponent lingered up in the air, the human could see sparks of furious energy erupting from the monster's eyes like lava from a volcano. At the side of his armor, the blast had barely left a mark, but nevertheless, he was even more ticked than before.

Closing the distance between him in less than a second, the monster came crashing down beside the human with such weight that the tall grass around them parted like water in the ocean. The human barely even had time to evade the burst of energy hurled his way the instant the monster whipped around to face him again, the searing hot energy projectile missing his vest by mere inches. The same moment he came back up again, he had brought back his arm, the clasp extended out from the gauntlet whirring as it charged the pump with electricity, before swinging his arm forward in a punch powerful enough to send even the sturdiest of monsters reeling.

With a snap of his fingers, two arms became six. The human wasn't even given time to process this new action before two hands clasped around the gauntlet as it shot forward, stopping it a few inches short of his opponent's chest. The response that came after was brutal. One hand chopped down onto the human's elbow, breaking the force behind the attempted punch, as the other slamming into the human's chest and emitting an explosion of blue energy forceful enough to leave the human clutching his chest in pain. Not a second had passed before the monster socked his chin with yet another arm, leaving the human stunned enough to land a final energy charged blow that sent him flying.

Clutching his head in pain, the human shakily got to his feet as his head rung like a bell. Miraculously, his revolver had remained in his hand, as had the gauntlet still shaking with the energy it was giving off. A click sounded off, and the pump piece snapped shut again, the last sparks fizzing out with a pop. As the world around him finally came into focus again, he became aware of the armored monster standing in the distance, six orbs of energy already clenched in the grasp of his six hands. For a moment, the human considered the flaming blade he had also picked up from the lab in Hotland, but then he looked over to his right and the large field bustling with crops caught his eye. If he could get in, he might be able to bait the armored monster inside so he could sneak up behind him and land a blow. Then again, the monster could just blow the field to smithereens, but at least it would give him a bit of a chance.

The human broke into a sprint towards the field of crops, just as his opponent resumed his onslaught of blue energy. This time the attacks came faster, and soaring through the air instead of their usual amble. Unprepared for this change of pace, the human was knocked around by each blast that scorched him, slowly racking up damage. Still, he continued onward, eventually making it through the unrelenting storm of fire, stumbling into the field of crops. As he wandered deeper into the sea of green, he began to slow down. With the crops behind him shielding him from the fire, the human relaxed. He took a moment to take out a sandwich from his backpack, stuffing it into his mouth, replenishing his SOUL and regaining his strength. Even if the monster blasted away the entire field, it would take time for Incinerate to scorch every last inch of the field, and it would buy him enough time to get away. Perhaps he could venture further to seek out the other monsters. Afterward, he could return to have another go at the final councilor once he had enough LOVE.

Then the scent of smoke wafted into the human's nose. He turned his head over his shoulder to see thin grey smoke curling above him. Immediately, he broke into a run, for although he did not know what exactly was coming, he had enough sense to know that whatever it was, he had to move quickly. Taking another glance behind him, this time he saw the crops behind him part in a fiery blaze.

As the curtain of smoke and bright orange flame began to wither away, a glimmer of light flashed off the flawless metal surface of armor as Incinerate continued his march onward, his arms spread to his side, spewing flames into the crops. In a matter of seconds, all the lush green around the human was completely consumed by the fire. Still, his pace remained unwavering, even with the countless bright blue projectiles that began to fly overhead. He only paused for a second to hurl a small disk-shaped bomb at the monster on his tail, before returning his attention to his getaway, not even bothering to see if his attack had any effect whatsoever.

Finally, a river presented itself in the middle of the field, a series of wooden bridges stretched over the tumbling and foaming water. The human rushed onto the bridge without a second thought. An explosion went off behind him, and the weight of the bridge shifted under him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the bridge had been hit by one of the monster's powerful projectiles. As the wood crumbled away behind him, the human picked up his pace, barely making it onto solid ground just as the final fragments of the wooden bridge clattered into the frothing river below.

Sneaking another glance at the field behind him, he caught sight of Incinerate stepping out from the boundaries of the burning field. Fresh burn marks painted his plated armor, but he showed no sign of being winded or fatigued at all. The monster glared at him through his sputtering eye slits, his six fists clenched together, smoke trailing off into the air from his fingertips. The two large pumps on his back pressed down, and steam gushed through the vents in his armor like water bursting through a dam. His knee joins bent down as the monster lowered himself to the ground before he sprang back up high into the air. The human had anticipated such a move, however. Quickly he reached into his backpack, pulling out three more glowing black disks, and flinging them onto the ground before him. The moment the armored monster came crashing down onto the riverbed, the bombs went off with a resounding bang. The bright column of flames that erupted sent Incinerate stumbling back into the rushing waters behind him, leaving him flat on his back as the river streaked by.

Not a second had passed by before the human had followed in short pursuit, a blade with bright red tongues of fire licking at the crisp metal held firmly in his grasp raised high into the air as he swung down at the monster. Incinerate rolled to the side, causing the blade to miss him and plunge into the riverbed beside him. As the blade bit into the soft sand in the shallow side of the riverbed, waves lapped against the fire that clung onto the sword, extinguishing them in an instant, only for the flames to burst back into existence the moment the human yanked the blade out of the water. Again, he struck downward onto the final councilor in hopes of finally piercing through his armor. A click echoed inside the armored monster's shoulder joints, and his six arms were once again two more bulky arms, one of which shot forward and grabbing onto the human's arm the exact second it had reformed. The blade jerked to a halt, its red glow faintly reflecting off the metal plates that lay beneath.

At once, the second arm was already behind the first, charging a blast aimed directly at the human's face. He pulled his face aside in the nick of time, his eyes following the bright blue orb as it flashed right before his eyes. He found himself a bit stunned for a second, before he felt the rough hands of the current pushing him down as he was suddenly thrown into the water.

The human looked up just in time to see an armored foot coming down onto his face. He ducked his head moments before impact, feeling small specks of water splattering onto his face from the attack he had barely avoided. In the blink of an eye, he was back on his feet, the flaming sword leveled at the monster's chest. He thrust the sword forward in one swift motion. Incinerate stepped aside, and the blade glanced his armor as it passed by, only nicking a thin line of steel off the thick metal plating. The human swung his sword again, aiming to punch a hole in his opponent's armor. This time the sword made contact with its intended target, piercing through the metal as if it were paper. The monster, however, remained unfazed. A searing burst of heat erupted from the plating around the sword, and the human found himself holding a useless handle, what was left of the blade dripping into the water below. The rest of the sword had been melted into what had moments ago been a hole in the armor.

The human threw the useless sword hilt into the river and turned back around only to find Incinerate already posed to respond, sparks crackling out of his fingertips as he prepared another attack. Acting fast, the human whipped a fifth disk-shaped bomb out, only this bomb was colored bronze and gave off a blood red glow. He hurled it at the monster, following it with his eyes as it left a stain of thick smoke in the sky. Incinerate immediately defused both the energy orbs in his hands, and snatched the object out of the sky. Then, he crushed it within his three-fingered grip as if it were a soft fruit, and from inside the disheveled black object oozed a light green liquid. Realization of what his opponent was going to do reached the human a moment later, and he hastily snatched his lighter while the oil was still in the air. He wasn't fast enough to spark the fuel, however. Incinerate's three fingers formed the shape of a gun, and he fired a tiny bolt of energy aimed at the human's hand. The attack didn't hurt much, it just stung enough for the human to drop the lighter he was holding, all before the green fuel splattered onto the human.

The two pumps on the monster's back once again pumped down and back into the monster's armor, and white puffy curls drifted away into the air. "Did you really think the same trick would work twice?" Incinerate said mockingly as the human stared at him in surprise.

In one swift motion, the armored monster flung the oily liquid back at the human, leaving a thin trail of green in the water. As the liquid settled into the water, a spark flickered into existence from the armored monster's fingers. The spark zipped through the air and into the river, right onto the tint of green waiting below, and the foamy white waters instantly became alit with flames.

The fire sailed over the water and latched on to the human, scratching and biting at his tender flesh. The human was forced to dive deeper into the river to extinguish himself. In his brief distraction, the monster was given an opportunity to close the distance between them. Incinerate quickly plunged his hand into the water with an audible splash, yanking the human out and tossing him back onto solid ground.

The human hit the field with a grunt, getting a mouthful of dirt as he slid to a halt. He groaned as he pushed himself up, slowly getting a solid grip on the ground. He turned his head up just in time to catch sight of Incinerate rushing forward to attack. The human could only widen his eyes before his face was met with metal, and he was sent flying off again. When he touched the ground, his arms shot forward as he attempted to slow himself down. He got to his feet faster this time. As his weight shifted, he heard something clatter behind him. Taking a peek over his shoulder, he was met with the sight of a long fall over his shoulder; just a few steps back and he would have to suffer a nasty fall.

"Well," a metallic baritone voice called out, prompting the human to turn his head back forward. "This is the same exact situation you got put in against Sewmurr, isn't it?"

The human didn't respond. "You hid a bomb under the ledge, I believe," Incinerate continued. "You wanted to fool him into thinking you'd jumped over, and waited for him to step onto the edge so you could detonate the bomb, causing him to fall into the lava below." Then, he paused. His two pumps pressed down again, and the upper half of his chest was smothered in a white cream before he said, "Sewmurr was the most honorable monster I had ever known in all my centuries of existence. He never resorted to cheap tricks, he never took advantage of an unfair playing field, not as long as there was another option to take. If he were me, he would even dare to entertain the thought of taking the easier way out."

Silence. Once again, the armored monster's eyes crackled with fierce energy. "Though," he said, "if you're thinking of pulling the same trick on me, know this; I do not share the same honor, so the same thing I lack that would prevent me from ever being as great of leader as he was is the same lacking that would not bar me from doing this!" And with that, he blasted the soft earth before him.

Cracks spread along the floor in an instant, and the cliff gave away. Stones and sizable chunks of dirt tumbled through the air with the human as he plummeted to the ground. Casting his eyes upward one more time, the human saw that Incinerate had jumped off as well, streaking straight for him, his arm reeled back to unleash a blow onto the human. The human reached behind him and swiftly threw a disk-shaped object up into the air. The edges of the disk expanded out, leaving a trail of solid white light behind, all connecting with the others until it had formed a shield. The armored monster descended upon the wall and swung with all his might, breaking the barrier into a million pieces as if it were glass. The move did reset the monster's momentum, buying the human a bit more time. As the ground approached the human at a rapid pace, the human threw a small soft bundle onto the ground. The moment it hit the ground, it expanded with a puffing noise into a thick cushion, bouncing for a bit before it finally settled. The human hit the cushion with enough force to send him back up into the air, but before he could fall back down again, the armored monster came crashing down on him again, slamming him back onto the ground so hard his body tore through the mattress and bounced off the ground to the side.

As he fell down to the ground again, he felt a few items slip out of his backpack. Stopping short of the cliff on the edge of the sloped surface he landed on, he jumped to his feet, and at once he set his eyes to scan the floor, searching amongst the objects scattered about the floor. He inspected each of the items laid out on the floor in a few seconds, and a crisp golden badge a delta rune carved in it. The badge caught the eye of his opponent as well. The human could immediately tell that the badge held some sort of importance from the way the armored monster's eyes flashed the moment he laid eyes on the gold badge.

"Where did you-" Incinerate was cut off as the human fired a bullet into one of the black disk-shaped object conveniently placed next to it. The monster lifted his arm to shield his face from the blast. The blast passed over, and the moment he put his arm down the human could see steam rushing out from his armor, his eyes sparked with rage.

"You dare disrespect the council?!" Incinerate said, bolts of blue energy streaking out of his hands, leaving scorch marks on the ground around him. With an earth-shaking roar, the monster charged at the human, his arms laced with flickering bolts of blue energy.

The human stepped to the side, and an energy charged punch skimmed the side of his head. With nothing to halt his momentum, the armored monster barely stopped himself from falling over, his eyes falling to the ground below, watching as a few loose pieces of dirt few to the pit below. A slight nervousness flashed in his eyes, but it was gone in less than a second. The human did not nearly have enough strength to knock him over, and even if he did possess such strength, the most damage that could possibly be done by such a move would be an oversize dent in his armor. Then he turned around to the sparking of the metal gauntlet wrapped around the human's hand.

The human lunged forward, giving no time for his opponent to react. He threw a punch aimed at the monster's chest, and the pump on the gauntlet shot forward, denting the armor with a resounding clang, leaving the monster stunned. The human took the opportunity to pull his arm back and slam the gauntlet into his opponent again, causing him to stumble to the side. His hand slipped into his backpack, and this time a bright blue disk appeared in his hand, giving off a darker blue glow. The bomb snapped into place on the metal plates covering the monster's stomach, and in a flash, every inch of his armor was coated in a layer of frost. Not even a moment had passed before the ice began to crack, bringing all the more urgency to the human's situation.

He pulled out a cannon from his backpack, careful not to lose his hold on it. He fumbled with the weapon, attempting to gain a solid grip on the handle while swinging it in the monster's direction. Steadily, the cracks in the ice began to slow as the ice began to settle. The human held his aim at the monster, finally pulling the trigger and launching a powerful blast of compressed air. A crash sounded off as every piece of metal on the councilor's monster shattered into countless shards. The only hint that the monster had ever stood there were a few flickering blue colored flames scattered on the ground.

The human's gaze lingered on the blue flames, a shadow of doubt passing in through his eyes. The blast couldn't have both destroyed the armor and killed the monster, could it? Then again, perhaps it did. Still, he kept his glare on the pile of ice shards on the ground, even as he began to step back, even as he placed the gauntlet on his hand back inside his backpack. Finally, a feeling of confidence settled over him, and he turned away to continue onward.

Except the counselor wasn't done. As the human looked over his shoulder one last time, he saw that the blue flames had begun to gather around, swirling into a fiery blue tornado so scorchingly hot he had to take a step back. Then the fire began to gather together, taking shape of a spirit made entirely of flame. As the last of the whirlwind slowed to a crawl, two eyes made out of a brighter blue light popped into being, fountains of lighting streaming out.

"You shall not leave this place alive!" Incinerate said, his voice overflowing with rage, the sparks shooting from his eyes giving away his intent to kill. His form flared more intensely, the light he was giving off so blindingly bright as the energy that made up his form reached for the sky. The human whipped his revolver around, his finger brushing the trigger, but before he had the chance to fire, the fire monster let loose a wave of energy.

The moment the human was hit by the wall of heat, the weapon clattered to the floor, a crack appearing in his SOUL. He winced in pain, lifting his arm to shield his face from the heat the monster was giving off. Sweat began to rapidly cover the human's skin, and his eyes locked on to the weapon on the floor, and he tried to step over to pick it up, only for a second wave of blistering heat to crash into him. He fell to the ground, items spilling out of his backpack. He bit his lip in an attempt to keep the agonized scream from escaping his mouth. The pain was unbearable, but still, he fought to get to his feet, to get back into the fight.

Pain seared through his entire body as yet another wall of flames washed over him. Finally, he collapsed as the effort of getting up became too painful for him to try again. So this was it then. This would be how his heroic quest for vengeance would end. There would be no happy ending for him. This was not a fairy tale, as he once thought it might be. This was the real world, in which stories never ended with a happily ever after. This was how he knew his story would end, with him dying in a blazing inferno. Then, his eyes caught sight of a golden locket, lying on the ground in front of his face.

The human recalled that years ago, there was someone he had loved. To him, she seemed like an angel, the only bright light in his dark world. When they were together, he didn't have a care in the world. One day she disappeared without a trace. He knew that she had been taken by the monsters, but the others never believed him, so he waited until he was older to go hunt down the monsters and kill them himself. On the day of her disappearance, he swore never to rest until every last monster was wiped off the face of the planet. He didn't plan on giving up now, not when he could feel like he was so close to his goal.

Slowly but surely, he rose to his feet. His body surged with the pain as he put his muscles into overdrive, ignoring the agony he felt as he put strain into his legs.

The monster's eyes furrowed in frustration, irritated by the human's persistence, and he unleashed another blast of heat.

The human faltered as his body was lit on fire again, but remained standing. He began to feel light-headed and bloated, the world spun around him, yet he still managed that first step forward. Again, the monster blasted him with a wave of heat, and the human felt as if a wall was slammed right into his side. Yet this time, the blast felt weaker than before. His eyes drifted upward to look straight into his opponent's flickering form, and he noticed that his opponent looked a bit smaller than before.

Suddenly, a thought clicked in his head. The monster was using the matter that made up his body as energy for his attacks, and because right now he was using so much of it, his body mass was decreasing. If he kept this up, he would cease to exist. This only made him more determined.

He took a second step towards the monster, then another, the adrenaline coursing through him being the only thing fueling him forwards. In response, the energy monster only attacked faster, wave after wave washing over the human and filling his body with pain, chipping away at his SOUL. Underneath his skin, the human could feel his blood beginning to boil, and each step became more agonizing than the last, but still, he pressed on. Step after step, wave after wave, both sides refused to cease their efforts to bring down the other; it was only a matter of time before one of them would be forced to stop, and they were both determined to not be the one to stop first.

Then Incinerate faltered. It was only a second that he stopped his relentless assault but a second was all the human needed. With a yell, he stumbled forward closing the distance between the two and shoved the monster off a cliff. Incinerate attempted to reach out and pull the human with him, but his attacks had left him weak. His hand evaporated as he tried to extend his arm, and the rest of his body followed shortly after. He went out with a quiet sizzle, and then the last councilor was no more.

It was at that moment when the human's legs decided to give out. He collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily. He crawled back slowly to the items strewn across the floor from where he had first fallen, searching for the smallest morsel of food. He found a few pieces of meat lying on the ground, some of them burnt to a crisp. The human ate each and every one of them, steadily healing the wounds on both his body and SOUL. After every last piece disappeared from the ground, the human shakily got to his feet. He took a look at the items scattered about, contemplating how few items he had left. He had been saving most of them for his fight with the monster king, but the councilor had forced him to chew through most of his supplies. Now he was slightly worried about his fight with the monster king. If the fight with what must have been the king's most powerful officer had been this difficult, the king must be ten times stronger than him.

As he bent down to pick up what he had left, his gaze drifted over to the strip of land that lay ahead. His eyes trailed down the downhill slope that was laid out before him and stopped at the large, majestic building that towered ahead. Picking up his backpack off the ground, he began his trek onward, a determined expression on his face.

He now had a renewed resolve to go forward; he would not rest until every last monster had been turned into dust, and he would not let anyone get in his way.

A minute had passed when he had finally reached the front steps of the building. He stepped up the stairs leading to the entrance, passing a series of massive columns holding the roof off the ground before he was presented before the two gigantic doors that led inside the building. The human turned to look behind him one more time, taking in the vast green that lay before him. Then, he turned back and pushed the double doors open, ready to face whatever lay ahead.


	7. Finale

Well, after half a year this story finally gets to the final chapter. (My internet did not want to cooperate. I didn't get a lot of time to write, sorry) I tried to give this one a bit of a creepy feel to it, and if you have any thoughts on how terribly un-scary the "creepy" parts were, don't be afraid to go on a long rant in the reviews below.

Anyway, if I owned Undertale it would probably be half the game it actually is. Heck, I'd probably add an entire room dedicated to the Baby Sun from Teletubbies due to... *cough* *cough* peer pressure, (You'd add that out of your own free will) so you should be grateful that I don't own Undertale.

This thing was frickin painful to finish. Enjoy the product of my suffering.

* * *

The clock read five minutes until midnight.

And counting.

...

Yet the sun still shone high in the sky.

The human looked around him, confused. Just a moment ago, he had been underground, pushing open the doors into a giant majestic building, and now he had the sun shining in his face. His eyes darted about the room, suspicious of any possible hint that this was a trick.

He took a cautious step forward, the wooden floor creaking under his weight. Noticing the faint light coming from the doorway, he slowly began to step towards it. His senses on high alert, the human slipped in behind the door, his revolver raised. Without a second thought, the human spun around to face whatever was inside; only to find a woman standing in a kitchen, humming a tune.

The sound of sizzling filled the air as the strange woman shifted the item in the frying pan, while the human lowered his weapon, confused. None of this made sense. First the sun and now another human?

Then, the tune abruptly ceased. The woman stiffened, and a sickly sweet voice flowed out of her lips. "Oh! We've been expecting you."

The human stepped back. A voice inside his head told him something was terribly wrong.

Then, the woman turned around, and in the same harmonious voice, said, "You're just in time for supper, dear."

The moment he caught sight of her face, the human's revolver was pointed straight at the woman's head, his eyes widened in fear. Her face looked completely normal except for one minor detail; in the place of her eyes were two swirling black pits oozing with a strange black substance.

The creepy woman frowned in disapproval. "Now what did I say about using weapons in the house?" she said.

The human felt a shiver run up his spine. A trace of fear flashed through his eyes, his revolver trembling in his hands. His mouth opened to speak, only to close again. The floorboards creaked under his feet further than they should have, like they were going to sink into an abyss waiting under the ground, and his heart jumped to his throat.

"Where are you going, my child?" the woman asked, her tone unchanging.

The human didn't respond, keeping his gun level with the woman posing as his mother. One step became two. This time it felt like the entire house was swaying. Suddenly, the human turned around, and broke into a run towards the door behind him, wanting to put as much distance between him and whatever the thing in the kitchen was. Suddenly, his path was obstructed by another smaller boy. His eyes too were nothing more than two pits of darkness as deep as eternity.

"Clauve? When did you come back?" The boy said, a delightful cheer in his voice.

The human screeched to a halt and his weapon snapped up to point directly at the new obstacle. The creature did not seem to take notice. The human glanced over his shoulder to see the walls behind shifting, contracting in and out as if they were breathing. The human suddenly felt as if the walls were going to cave in at any second, and had the sudden urge to get out as fast as possible.

"The others said-" the boy was cut off as the human shoved him to the side. He thrust out his arm to catch himself against the wall and stared back at the human as he rushed past. "Oh," the boy said, disappointed. "I guess you're not in the mood for company. As usual."

Each footstep sounded like thunder as his heart raced, and the creaking of the walls did nothing to calm his spirit. Taking one last peek over his shoulder, the human caught sight of the boy's eyes dripping out onto the floor at an alarming rate. An inky pool formed at the feet of the human as his eyes broke down, and cracks of darkness crept out of his eye sockets and onto the rest of his face. The human felt a vile taste rise up at the back of his tongue at this grotesque sight.

With a clap, the entire house began to fold in on itself. Walls crumbled to the ground, dust hailed down from the ceiling as the planks above snapped in half. The floor underneath the human became elongated, and the hall seemed to stretch out before him. The distance between him and the door only seemed to increase with every stride, only pushing the human even further. Nails began to pop out from the ground underneath him as the floorboards snapped apart, revealing an empty void beneath. The human pushed himself to go faster as the floor behind him broke apart. Just when it seemed as if the void would catch up to him, sending him tumbling to the infinite void below, the floor snapped forward again as if it were stretched rubber, and the human was sent flying out of the door.

A blanket of grass with a handful of clovers sprinkled in between rushed up from the ground to meet him as he was sent stumbling out the door. He barely managed to stay on his feet as he took a few unsteady steps on the plush vegetation, only to regain his sense of balance a second later. The dark shadow of some kind of bird passed overhead with a soft screech. As he planted his feet firmly on the ground, steadily straightening himself, a new presence blocked out the sun. His head lifted his head to the sky. Two pitch-black eyes as the night stared right back.

In an instant the revolver was back up again, pointing at the boy who had appeared out of nowhere. The second human seemed to be completely ignorant of the weapon completely pointed at his face, his expression remaining completely unchanging.

"Clauve?" the boy said in surprise. Then his lips twisted into a scowl. "Back already? You wouldn't happen to have the money I lent you a while back, would you?"

The human stepped back in fear. His knuckles turned white as his grip on the gun tightened. Already he could feel the weapon begin to slip from his sweat-coated hand. The second boy's scowl only deepened, and he stepped forward as well, completely disregarding the fear radiating from the human.

"Is that a no?" he growled, his tone dropping several octaves as his hands clenched into fists. "The money I gave you was due back last week, and I gave you an extension of a week yet still you claim to not have the money." The boy's hand fell to his hip, firmly gripping the knife hanging there and plucking it off the belt. "You know what happens to those who go back on their word against me, do you?" he said, pointing his weapon at the human's chest. "They die."

It was then that the revolver went off. Blood splattered all over the floor, and suddenly the grass fluttering on the ground did not look as bright and sunny as before. What chilled the human, however, was the fact that the creature did not seem to mind the messy hole tearing through his face. He just stumbled back a bit, a clattering noise sounding off as the knife he was holding dropped to the floor, only to quickly regain a steady balance. A cold, foreboding breeze crept past, and as the human felt goosebumps begin to rise, the blood on the grass turned a sickly shade of black.

"So that's how it is?" the creature said, his voice now sounding like the hissing of a burning blaze.

The human turned to the right and ran as fast as he could, fear giving him an extra jolt of energy to move his legs faster. A glimmer of light caught his attention, and he glanced over to the side to see a mirror propped against a wall. The creature was shown in the mirror, standing in the same place as before, just watching as the human fled. The creature abruptly melted into a formless blob on the floor, before that too disappeared into the grass.

The world around him suddenly seemed to be thrown into madness. The flora under his feet felt as if it were reaching out and attempting to drag him down. The houses lining the side of the street swayed with the grass below, wooden planks creaking and groaning as if they were going to break into pieces despite the wind having barely any force behind at all.

Then the voices started to appear. Barely louder than a haunting breeze, at first the words seemed like nothing more than gibberish. Then they got louder, steadily increasing in volume like the storm clouds that had suddenly appeared in the sky. Ghastly faces pressed themselves up against the windows of the buildings on the edge of the road, words drifting out of their mouths as they hung open.

"Returned."

"Revenged."

"Righteous and just."

The voices circled around the human, their mocking sing-song tone only helping to put him even more on edge. Then the voices started to hiss, their words becoming more mocking.

"Ghastly."

"Ragged."

"Monster."

"Bloodlust."

"Murderer."

The human's eyes zapped about in his rapidly escalating fear. He stumbled through the street, and a chill swept through his body. He did not know what was going on; what he did know was that it was something to be feared.

Then, the windows shattered into pieces. Glass shards littered the green creeping in on the side of the road, and with nothing holding the ghostly faces back, they burst onto the streets. The human's heart sped up drastically as the ghosts started to chase him, tormenting words flowing out of their mouths like a stream of acid. Just as their prickly fingers began to tickle his ankles, his foot met nothing but air, and he found himself falling into a room at the feet of another.

At once he was on his feet, his revolver at the ready. A solid hand slowly pushed the weapon to the floor, and for once the human met two striking blue eyes. His stance relaxed a bit, though his eyes remained suspicious, quickly scanning the form of the girl standing before him.

"Clauve," the girl said, her hands held up defensively. "Don't worry. It's me, Ilsabon."

A look of relief passed through the human's face, relieved that he had finally encountered a friendly face. With a cheerful smile, the girl sat down at a small table, beckoning him to sit down with her.

"Why don't you join me for tea?" she asked cheerfully.

The human sat down without a sound, slipping the revolver back in its holster. The girl poured him some tea from the teapot, steam embracing the human's face as it rose from the cup.

"Cigarette?" the girl asked, pulling a box out of a drawer.

Confusion presented itself on the human's face. He hesitantly reached for the box, keeping a suspicious glare on the box as he flicked it open and plucked a cigarette.

The girl flashed him a smile. "Weird, right? This place seems to know everything about us, down to the box of cigarettes I kept for you at my house."

The human swiped at his chin, and his eyes trailed off in thoughtfulness as he pulled out his lighter. With a click, a spark fluttered out of the machine, sinking into one end of the cigarette. The human popped it into his mouth, causing one end to glow faintly.

After a second, the human pulled the cigarette back out again, and he opened his mouth to speak only for the girl to cut him off. "So, you're probably wondering what I am doing here, and what is going on with this place?"

A squeak came from the window, and the pair looked to the side. One of the disfigured faces smudged itself against the glass, just staring at the two beings inside. The girl just pulled the shades over the window, before turning her attention back to her companion. The human slowly closed his mouth again, and nodded.

"Well," the girl said, taking a sip from her teacup, "You probably thought I was dead, but the truth is I never really died. I've been stuck here for a really long time."

The human looked skeptical, but it passed like a fleeting breeze.

"I've done a bit of exploring, and from what I've found, this place seems far too big to be contained in a building, even one as large as this one," the girl continued. "I've come to the conclusion that this place is some kind of magical illusion, meant to keep us here until the monsters let us out. When that time will come, I don't really know." Then she stopped, and her spirits seemed to brighten once more. "But now with you here, maybe we'll be able to find a way out of this place!"

Again, the human nodded slowly, fiddling idly with the golden locket around his neck. Not a second had passed, when the human's fingers froze around the locket, and he suddenly seemed to recall a humanoid dog monster boast to him about how he had killed a human before with his weapon. Surely this girl must have died.

Suddenly, the girl exclaimed, "Shoot! I almost forgot!"

The human gave her an inquisitive look, curious as to what she was going to say, his previous train of thought temporarily forgotten.

"You might have heard some words that could be associated with my death. Well, as it turns out, there have been humans before us that have not been as lucky as us."

A confused look spread itself on the human's face. On one hand, perhaps that dog monster had not been talking about her. Then again, he had known this girl to be rather sporadic, but the fact that she had just addressed words that had been only a thought in his head was rather suspicious. Though it might be just a coincidence.

Then, the human let the girl's words sink in. There had been other humans before them, all of which must have met their demise at the monstrous creatures of the Underground? His thumb flicked the drum of his revolver as his mind went to thoughts of vengeance. Surely it would be a good thing to avenge the poor souls who had come before. Justice must be served to the murderers of the innocent people; What was stopping them from doing so?

"You want to avenge them?" The girl's cry snapped the human out of his thoughts. "Our first priority should be to get ourselves out of here, not going on a mass murdering campaign. Besides, we don't even know those people! Why should we care about avenging them?"

The human raised a hand to insist that bringing justice should be unconditional, but he stopped. Was he that easy to read? All he had done was flick the barrel of his gun. Not a single word had even left his lips; he was sure about it. His hands went back to his locket, his fingernails clicking against the gold as his mind raced in confused and suspicious thoughts.

The girl seemed to notice the clicking, as her eyes fell on the golden locket.

"Is that the locket I gave to you?"

The human glanced at the metal he held in his hands. Then he looked back at her and nodded. A finger pressed down on the button on the side, and with a click, the locket opened. Inside was a photo of the girl, her eyes glimmering against the light above her.

"You didn't leave this behind," the girl said, seeming a bit intrigued. "You came here for me, didn't you?"

The human nodded, and the ghost of a smile traced itself on his lips.

"Then, knowing you, Clauve, you came here to avenge me, didn't you?"

Once more, the human nodded his head in confirmation.

The girl turned around, a worried frown displayed on her face, and began to pace around the room. "You didn't tear up the Underground searching for my killer, did you? Even if they're monsters, you still should know better than to hack and slash your way across the countryside. How do you think that monster felt when you detonated a grenade at her face?"

A click sounded off behind her as the revolver's drum rolled into place. The worried look on her face was washed away in an instant, replaced by a cold glare at the wall. For a moment, the thick tension was left to stretch the atmosphere. Then the girl spoke.

"It was the grenade part, wasn't it," the girl said, her voice no longer containing the warmth it had moments ago. "Oh well, I was planning on dropping my masquerade sooner or later."

Then, for the first time since he had been thrown into the Underground, the human's lips moved, and words spilled out like boiling water from the pot. "What have you done with her?"

The girl's mouth twisted into a surprised smile. "Nothing," she said, her voice overflowing with a strange satisfaction. "She's dead, just as you presumed before."

"Then justice shall be served!" the human said, practically roaring with rage.

The moment the bright flash of light erupted from the barrel, time seemed to slow to a crawl. The girl's lips parted, flashing the teeth underneath, only this time, they weren't blunt, like the teeth of a human, but jagged and sharp. Her eyes rolled up into their sockets, and the revealed blank whites glowed a deep blue hue. She twisted to the side, the bullet barely grazing her stomach. In an instant, she snapped back again, and her arm lurched forward with inhuman speed. A silver blur streaked across the room, embedding itself in the cloth of the human's sleeve, pinning his arm to the wall behind.

The human tore his jacket from the wall, leaving a jagged hole in his sleeve, only for another knife to plunge into the flesh of his arm, causing the weapon to clatter to the floor. His hand was over the wound in an instant, as a gasp of pain escaped his lips. He was spared only a second before a third knife sailed toward him. The human twisted his head to the side, the blade missing his nose by a millimeter. Then, he snapped back, diving to the ground to retrieve his fallen revolver. A series of wooden noises sounded off behind, signaling that his attacker was determined to keep up their onslaught.

The moment his fingers were firmly grasped around his weapon, the human rolled aside as a knife cut into the wall beside him. Quickly he jumped to his feet and fired, the sound of the explosion rattling the fragile plates on the cupboards above. The girl didn't move an inch as the bullet zoomed toward her head. The human only closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened again, the girl was still standing, the bullet lodged between her teeth.

Her smile widened, her teeth glistening in the dim light. She spat the bullet out to the side, before turning back to the human, brandishing the knives in her hands. A cackle emerged from her lips, as cold and cruel as the winter wind, and with that, shards of glass showered down onto the floor as the windows finally gave in. Disfigured faces swept into the room, shrieking and howling, all of them locked onto the human.

The girl lunged after the human, knife in hand, forcing the human to step back. He reached out behind him, his hands searching for a solid surface. He felt a pane of glass behind him, but the moment his fingers grazed the cold surface, it burst open, leaving him nothing to lean back on.

His back hit a soft carpet of green, sharp pieces of glass piercing into his sides. A second later, ghastly spirits burst through the shattered window, crying for his blood. The moment the human was on his feet, he broke into a run. Wind brushed against his face, its howling almost loud enough to drown out the cries of the ghosts behind him. Leaves were swept up from the floor, swirling around the human's feet as they were tossed in the wind. Branches were thrown to him in a frenzy as if even the trees were against him, but still, he pressed on.

Taunting words slithered into the human's ears in a continuous onslaught as the spirits behind him drifted in the wind, their gnarly hands reaching for his feet as he battled against the wind. Each step seemed fruitless with the wind pushing him back. Crimson drops of blood spilled from the wound in his arm like a scattered red ribbon trailing from his arm, only to be lost into the soil below. The human's arm was braced against his face to shield his eyes from the branches that sailed his way. He was being attacked from all sides as if the forest itself was trying to bring him down.

Then it all stopped. In a snap, the voices were gone. The wind faded away, and the leaves settled down to the forest floor once again. In an instant, an eerie calm had taken over the forest.

With a huff, the human sat down on a rock to gather his breath and recollect his thoughts. So the only friendly face here turned out to be nothing more than a facade. At least he knew that none of this was real and that he would have to find a way out. Or maybe that too was a lie. He remained on the rock for a while, keeping his mind on the matter.

As he pondered his thoughts, he shifted his feet, noting how soft and squishy the ground felt under his feet. He thought this was a bit strange, but it wasn't really something too notable.

Then again, with the way everything else had gone it wasn't too far-fetched to believe that it might have a more sinister underlying secret.

Slowly, the human reached a hand down to the soil. He secured a handful of dirt between his fingers, noting how wet and slimy it felt in his palm. Carefully, he brought it to his face expecting something grotesque and chilling.

Soft brown earth was all that he saw in his grasp. As dirt slipped out of his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief. He let the rest of the soil fall back to the forest floor, scattering it about. With a clap of his hands, he wiped the remains off his hands. He relaxed, sure that he was safe. Then he caught sight of the other side of his hands.

Almost instantly, his mind was swept away with fear at the sight of his palms covered in blood. He leapt to his feet, alarmed, and his eyes scanned the floor only to see that the soil had all been turned blood red.

Something flashed at the edge of his line of sight, and he turned around. His eyes landed on the rock he had just moments again been sitting on. With a trembling hand, he picked it off the ground, inspecting its smooth grey surface. He blinked, only to find himself holding a human skull. The human dropped it in terror, keeping his gaze on the skull for a moment.

He lifted his eyes to his surroundings, only to find the trees now had faces, their mouths open in a never-ending scream. His gaze turned to the empty branches, only to find strands of thick yellow slime hanging from them.

The human stepped back. His heart hammered against his chest, his face white with fear. All rationality was thrown out the window, and his mind was focused on one thing only; to get out of this unnatural place.

So he ran. Leaves swept up under his feet with each step. The human shoves tree branches aside as he fled, his heart racing as his eyes flitted from side to side. The air was hazy and thick, and reeked with the stench of flesh. At every turn, with every footfall something strange and creepy seemed to be hanging from the trees or splayed out on the ground. Not a second was spared for the human to rest.

Then the world began to fade. It started with the colors slowly fading from murky shades of red and yellow to a deathly pale color. Then the shapes too began to break down. With every inch, the trees and stones grew smaller and their surfaces lost their rough edges. The sky slowly broke off, with sickly gold slipping into nothingness.

The human began to slow his pace as the world vanished into nothing, objects and colors disappearing before his very eyes. Finally, there was nothing left except the empty white void. Still, he assumed that anywhere would be better than the horrifying place.

The blank space seemed to stretch on forever. At first, the human didn't mind, but as seconds turned to minutes, the void turned from a welcome calm to a frantic and eerie nothingness. At least with the place he had been before, there was something there. Here? There was nothing.

So the human was left to walk on his own, onward towards an eternal white emptiness. Several times he contemplated turning around, only to be swayed again in hopes that whatever was at the end would be better than what was at the beginning. So he pressed onward.

The calm, however, provided him with a pointed dagger that only streaked back to its owner; time to think, time to ponder over everything that had occurred. As his mind drifted to all the strange and terrifying things before, it began to wander even farther. And as it wandered, his mind began to crumble. His own cold twisted logic began to turn against itself, and all the righteousness that had filled his head was replaced by the ice cold feeling of raw terror. The irrationality of it all, the twisted look of everything in this prison; it only drove him deeper into madness.

Taunting words, accusing words, murderous words, the very same words that had, moments before, only been spat out like acid from the ghastly faces that trailed behind him now circled inside his own head. Voices accusing him of injustice, of murder screamed loudest of all, but with each sentence of guilt that echoed in his head, he only bit back twice as hard.

Unfairness? They could have blasted me to bits with their magic smick kind of stuff! Of course it's unfair!

Cowardice? Firing a bullet through the back of evil men hardly counts as cowardice if you've earned the right. I'll tell you what's cowardly, committing murder of innocent children!

Injustice? They're all monsters! They've been sealed away for a reason. Killing them is hardly more than they already deserve!

Murder? They're creatures, no more sentient than animals. They can't feel. It won't matter if I put an end to their life.

...

Right?

Then again, Ilsabon disapproved of it. And thinking back, monsters seemed to be able to display certain emotions. Moments before he struck them to the ground, they always seemed to tremble in fear, as if anticipating their own demise.

But it could just be an animalistic response. All creatures were built to care for their own survival. Fear of death could easily be tossed aside as nothing more than a primal instinct.

Willingness to betray one's kind, however... that was something different, wasn't it? The human recalled a brief encounter with a strange fish-like humanoid monster who had killed one of his own to prove to the human that he was willing to assist in his quest for vengeance. It certainly was an illogical move on his end, but humans were mostly illogical as well. The human thought of himself as one above illogical actions, so if anyone knew of humanity's tendency to act based on anything but their intellect it would be him, and this act of betrayal was definitely something he could attribute to a human, but a mindless creature?

And if they were capable of betrayal, might they also be capable of other displays of emotion?

No, it couldn't be. If that were true, it would mean that he was wrong, that he had acted unjustly. He was supposed to be someone who stood for justice, not against it. If it turned out that he was wrong, he might become so ashamed of himself that he might just end his own life. But it would never come to that. Would it?

The human eventually lost track of how long he had been walking in this empty void. He could have been walking for hours, and he would have been none the wiser. Not that he would have cared. The nothingness was all that existed, all that ever was, all that ever will be. The only escape from the void was the madness within, breaking away at the human's sanity, filling in every nook and cranny in his conscious from top to bottom. The white was all there was, and it drove him mad.

Then, finally, something appeared on the horizon. With each step closer, more things began to take shape out of the void. Thin, crooked trees rose out of the ground, and a scrawny winding dirt path bled into the forest floor. Dark blue washed over the sky, forming a dreary starless night sky. As the eerie forest overtook the human's surroundings, one thing remained unchanged; the dead silence. The human would have welcomed any noise to drown out the voices that swirled around in his head, but not even the crickets would chirp for him.

Then, the voices in his head fell silent. He had finally gained control of his head again, reeling in the madness and snuffing it out.

Or had he?

If there was anything that he knew about insanity, it was that it didn't go away at the drop of a hat. Then again, perhaps he was special.

No. There was nothing special about him. His mind couldn't have returned to pristine condition just like that.

But then there had to be a completely logical explanation for this. It killed him not to know what was going on, especially since the matter was over his own head. In his frustration he lashed out, slamming his fist into a nearby tree. The wound on his arm instantly flared, and he clutched his arm in pain. This only made him even angrier, and this time he kicked the tree. With a resounding crack, the trunk splintered, and the small tree toppled over and crashed to the ground. The human, however, was unsatisfied. His hands desired something more... alive; a tree wouldn't do.

There had to be someone controlling this strange, distorted world. Someone who he could satisfy his thirst, and help him to escape this reality. That someone had to be here, and when he found them, he was going to enjoy bringing them an unsightly end.

"Who?" He heard someone called out.

The human snapped his gaze to the trees. Two wide eyes stared back, blinking innocently, belonging to a small rounded figure perched on a low hanging tree branch. In an instant, those two eyes were staring down the barrel of the human's revolver.

"Who?" the human repeated, the words barely more than a whisper. "You're the one behind all of this, aren't you? You're the one who's been messing with my head"

"Who?" the owl said again.

"You. It's you. That's who," the human said, his voice raising.

"Who?"

"You. I'm talking to you," the human said, on the verge of boiling over. "No. This isn't..." He paused for a moment as if his mind were conflicted. Then, he said, "Get out of my head."

"Who?"

"I said, get out of my head!" he growled, more loudly this time. "Get out! Get out!"

"Who?"

"You! It's you!" he screamed, seething with rage. "Get out of my head, or else I'll-" The human's last words dissolved into crazed, furious sputtering, his hands flailing about as he struggled to continue.

Words were pointless, he eventually decided. What he needed to do was end this nightmare. His eyes snapped onto the owl, his entire body trembling with fury. As he looked into the eyes of the creature, for a moment he saw a flash of emotion flicker in its eyes. Then he pulled the trigger.

A bright flash erupted from the barrel. The owl shook on the branch it was perched on, the darkness concealing the wound the bullet left behind on its frail body. A single drop fell to the floor. The owl toppled from its perch at last.

Only, the owl never let go of the branch. Instead, it grew in size as it swung down to the underside of the branch. A meaty thunk sounded off, and the human found himself staring down the glossy wooden hilt of a knife, buried in his chest.

The human stumbled back from the force of the blow, a surprised look on his face. His mouth opened, but the only sound that emerged was a strangled gasp. He lifted his eyes to the figure hanging from the tree. His gaze was returned by the same two eyes from before, and this time he was able to catch a gleam of emotion behind those two eyes; cruel satisfaction. Then, he finally crumpled to the ground, no more alive than the countless monsters he had laid to waste.

The figure hanging from the branch let the cold tense silence linger in the atmosphere for a moment. A second passed before his feet finally let go of the branch. He landed on his feet without a sound, his large angel-like wings spreading out behind him as he fell to the ground. The fringes of his cloak were lifted into the air as a soft breeze trailed underneath, and his eyes fell to the limp body on the floor before him.

With a snap of his fingers, the forest vanished, leaving in its place a dimly lit hallway. The only source of light were the echo flowers carpeting the sides of the floor, giving off a soft blue glow that barely reached the brightly colored ceiling, painted to appear like the sky, raised so high up it might have been the sky itself.

A chuckle escaped the lips of the owl monster as he strode over to the human, his clawed feet clanking against the stones embedded in the soft floor. The owl knelt down to examine the limp body. After a moment, he put his hand on the wooden hilt and slid the knife out of the corpse with a sickening squelch.

"Who?" Talon said once more. "You. That's who." The owl monster fiddled with the knife in his hand as he said, "I expected you to put up a fight, and you did not disappoint. And all the raw terror I was able to collect from that confrontation, that was just beautiful."

A faint smile graced his lips. "Funny how the same steel you used to end so many lives was the same steel that was used to end yours," the owl monster sighed. "This knife was getting rusty and Alow stopped playing around with steel, so I'd thought this old favorite of mine would be heading to its grave. That is, until you came along."

Talon examined the shiny metal blade, his gaze only meeting his own as he stared into his own reflection. "Sure, it isn't the best," he said softly, "but it does its job."

Slowly he moved his hand away from the bottom of the hilt, revealing a glass jar with a bright yellow SOUL, glowing and pulsing with light. "The SOUL extraction knife," he muttered. "Alow would have wanted me to get rid of this." A grin broke out on his face, and he added, "Too bad I haven't listened to anyone other than my sister."

The mood shifted at the drop of a hat. Slowly, the grin faded away, and a guilty look flashed in his eyes. "My sister..." he said, his voice a ghost of a whisper. Talon fell to his knees, and all the positivity in his eyes evaporated in an instant, completely hopeless.

* * *

" _So, what would you require me to do this time, your Majesty?_ "

Asgore sighed, his slumped shoulders giving out how stressed he was. A bright white mask stared back in the darkness with expectant glowing eyes, its body shrouded in the darkness. A few seconds of tense silence passed before the king spoke.

"A forgetting spell. On all the monsters in the Underground. That is what I require," he said, his voice downtrodden and depressed. "You would not happen to possess one, would you?"

" _As a matter of a fact, I do,_ " the ghostly mask replied, " _but it will cost you quite a bit. A spell to fool the senses is one thing, but a spell to perplex the mind is another, especially if I were to use it on the entire populace._ "

"Hardly any trouble," Asgore said. "I just want to relieve my people of the burden of the memory of this horrific event, and since our aging has been slowed, waiting for it to happen naturally would take a long time."

" _As you wish, your majesty._ " the pale mask replied with a bow. " _And I assume you would like me to make an exception for you with this spell?_ "

Asgore nodded, and the monster turned his gaze to the sky. The soft glow in his eyes intensified, and slowly he rose from the floor. Bright cracks began to form on the floor, reaching out to each other and taking the form of a circular diagram on the floor around him. The light on the ground reached up to the ceiling, illuminating the monster's straight, angular form. As the monster floated up in the air, his gaze locked on to the monster king one more time.

" _Do you have any questions before the procedure begins?_ " he asked, his eyes sparking with magical energy.

Asgore hesitated for a moment, before he asked, "Will the spell affect our aging process?"

* * *

Talon felt something lightly brush the back of his mind. He paid no mind to it at first, oblivious in his grief-stricken state. In his head, he reached out for yet another memory of happier times, of times spent with friends, when they were still alive, that is, only to have it slip from his grasp like water in a river.

In an instant, he snapped back into reality, his feathers tucked in at the realization of what was happening. Talon reached out, trying to snare a memory before he lost everything, but to no avail.

"No," he muttered, a lost look in his eyes. "Don't take them from me. They're all I have left." Then, his eyes drifted down to the knife he held in his hands.

With a snap, the jar on the bottom of the handle of the knife came off, clattering to the floor. Shaky feathered hands reached for another jar lying on the ground. Talon attempted to attach the jar onto the knife, but his unsteady hands were unable to complete the task. Again, he attempted to attach the container, only to fail again. The owl monster cursed quietly, frustrated tears threatening to spill out from his eyes. He tried once more to place the container on the knife, and this time he finally managed to hit his mark.

Memories began to wash away at an accelerated rate now, making his actions even more of a desperate struggle. The owl closed his eyes, as he finally turned the blade onto himself, leveling it with his chest. Before the final act, he spoke one last time.

"I would rather die with memories of a better time than to live in misery. My sister would disapprove, but... she's not here, is she?"


End file.
